Dec 24
A durable power of attorney form is made to help you plan for unfortunate events such as a serious injury or illness. With a durable power of attorney form you can appoint someone to legally act on your behalf, which is called a “agent” or “attorney-in-fact”. On the form you can limit your agent to act on your behalf for a limited or very specific task or event. You could appoint a family member, advisor, or a trustworthy friend or institution like a bank.
The difference between a durable power of attorney and a regular power of attorney is that a durable power of attorney will still be legally valid even if you become incompetent or unable to make your own decisions. With a regular power of attorney it will become legally invalid if you become unable to make your own decisions. All fifty states now permit the use of a durable power of attorney, and it can not be revoked simply because the ‘principal’ becomes incapacitated or mentally incompetent. Upon death though, your durable power of attorney will be immediately revoked.
Mainly, a durable power of attorney is used for convenience purposes. Suppose you have your home listed for sale, and you could not be in town to complete the legal transcation. You can use a durable power of attorney to a appoint a ‘attorney-in-fact’ to manage these kind of transactions, and you could have your ‘agent’ complete the transcation legally for you. Your agent can sign the documents, and negotiate the sale for you.
Also, you can revoke a durable power of attorney anytime, as long as your competent. To revoke it simply sent your agent a written notice notifying him or her that the document has been revoked. Once your agent has notice of your revocation, the agent can no longer legally act on your behalf. Doing so would be illegal, although any actions taken prior to the date of the revocation is still legal.
Another thing you could do is make your durable power of attorney effective only upon your incapacitation. This document is often referred as the “springing” durable power of attorney. This is because it “springs to life” on a specific occurence in the future; your incapacity. Its important to include a detailed definition of “disability” to make it perfectly clear when your agent can act on your behalf.
Don’t procrastinate, executing a durable power of attorney can help you manage your life and protect your family in case you become seriously injured or incapacitated.
By: Nicholas Copernicus
Tagged with: All Fifty States • Convenience Purposes • Decisions • Durable Power Of Attorney • Durable Power Of Attorney Form • Family Member • Incapacitation • Limited • Power Of Attorney • Power Of Attorney Form • Revocation • Trustworthy Friend • Unfortunate Events • What Is A Durable Power Of Attorney
Dec 20
Medical Power of Attorney
Setting up a medical power of attorney along with a living will is an extremely important step in the estate planning process. A medical power of attorney or a living will describes the type of health procedures that can or cannot be done on us, should it be needed. This is based on our desire. Everybody has different desires, but many utilize the medical power of attorney to eliminate unnecessary prolonged life. Essentially stating, legally, whether we would like to be resuscitated if we end up in a non-responsive state. Would you want to be artificially kept alive for an extended period of time if you were in a vegetative state? The answer may vary, depending on the individual. The important thing is that the medical power of attorney and living well provide the legal instructions that describe your desires.
The need for both living wills and the medical power of attorney was made famous by the Terri Schiavo case. If Terri Schiavo would have had a medical power of attorney things may have been quite a bit easier for her family. What she and her case can teach us all is the importance of proper estate planning, at any stage. We never know when our moment will come, so planning early is the wisest step we can take. Accidents happen all the time. If something were to happen to you, would your family be protected? Would your desires be met? Would your legacy be remembered? If the the answer is no, you probably haven’t done the necessary estate planning. Proper estate planning may include setting up a living will, medical power of attorney, a living trust, proper life insurance, and much more. Meeting with a qualified estate planning advisor can help you and your family meet your estate planning needs. Make sure to include your family in the process. All too often, families are unaware of their loved ones wishes. This is especially true when it comes to a living will and medical power of attorney. This can be a sensitive subject, so your desires and wishes should be described and discussed with your family during the estate planning process.
Private Foundation
Another common part of the estate planning process often involves the private foundation. Private family foundations are typically set up to ensure a family’s legacy. But, it often comes with benefits such as controlled gifting and the reduction of taxes. In the past Private foundations were often thought of as an estate planning tool for the ultra rich, but times have changed. With as little as $25,000 annual contributions you can set up a private foundation on your behalf. It is important to consider, however, that with estates with less than the $3 million range, a private foundation may be cost prohibitive.
What we’re finding with the baby for a generation, is that they like to be involved in numerous charitable causes. This is evident through their volunteer work, as well as their economic contributions. The private foundation allows these individuals to continue their good will towards the areas that matter most to them. This may involve anything from medical research, church involvement, or the support of other charities.
The beauty of the private foundation is that it allows you to bequeath based on your beliefs. You may want to leave a particular legacy behind, allowing you to be remembered in a certain way. All of this is possible while making perfect economic sense. You could set up a stand by foundation, providing you with payments that can not be outlived. Or you may want to set up a flow through foundation. The flow through private foundation allows you to take property that has appreciated, convert it to cash, and then redistributed to charities, without endowment. This can be particularly valuable when sitting on rather large capital gains taxes. Also, private foundations offer flexibility that other estate planning approaches, like a living trust, cannot match.
The private foundation is just one of the many tools utilized by the wealthy to ensure their legacy. The tax benefits are obvious, but for many the flexibility and control are more desirable than traditional means of giving. Due to the complexity of setting up a proper private foundation it is recommended that you meet with a qualified estate planner before proceeding.
By: Mike Trudeau
Tagged with: Accidents • Desire • Desires • Estate Planning • Family Planning • Health Procedures • Insurance • Legacy • Life Insurance • Living Trust • Living Wills • Medical Power Of Attorney • Period Of Time • Power Of Attorney • Sensitive Subject • Terri Schiavo • Terri Schiavo Case • Vegetative State
Nov 30
How can Family Lawyers help?
A family lawyer looks after cases relating to divorce, guardianship, custody modification, and issues related to children. The family lawyers work in close association with children’s associations to make sure that the parents are not neglecting their children. The family lawyers are also engaged in private practices. They may enter into practices with other group of lawyers in partnership. The family attorney may also be responsible for the act of mediations. He generally represents the client while mediating.
A. Harrison Barnes of Bcgsearch.com has pointed out that any cases related to surrogacy, child abuse or child rights, spousal abuse, adoption, legitimacy, annulment, alimony, issues relating to parental responsibility, property settlement issues falls within the purview of the family lawyers. The issues relating to domestic relations and family like that of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships are handled by the family lawyers. The family lawyers can help out those children who are in distress or needs legal support. In some cases the attorney may help the child to get legal support from the state. There are certain factors which need to be taken into account while dealing with the custody of a child, for instance the inability of the parents to safeguard their own children. The parent’s marital status is not considered while visitation or filling for custody. The court of law can make sure of the fact that the child will be taken care of. The family attorney can bring about an order of restraint in case any of the relatives are trying to harm your family. You can also expect protection from the court of law, incase you are getting threatening calls from your relatives says A. Harrison Barnes of Bcgsearch.com.
Family lawyers practice in the field of estates and wills. The attorneys are responsible for handling the power of attorney issues, they advice their clients for setting up wills, deal with the cases of adoption, trust funds and annuities. The family attorneys spend most of their time in dealing with clients directly, or working in close cooperation and coordination with the group of attorneys. In some states there are provisions, where by the lawyers can coordinate with both parties of the families, provided they agree to it says A. Harrison Barnes. If such provisions do not exist in a state or incase the family does not agree to this provision, both parties seek different lawyers.
To represent their clients in the court of law, the family attorneys are required to prepare pleadings, filings and attend the trial courts and the proceedings every day. The family lawyers are expected to take recourse to mediation and arbitration with the parties for resolving disputes. The attorneys try to avoid the costly battles in courts this way says A. Harrison Barnes. Among the family attorney, some are also collaborative lawyers who try to mitigate the disputes between the parties outside the law courts.
Some commonly performed by the family lawyers have been stated by A. Harrison Barnes.
They assist families to undertake legal actions. Different aspects of the case are discussed by the family attorneys when they meet their clients. The family attorneys put before the clients several legal options that are available. They also assist them in choosing the right option. The family lawyers constantly mitigate and negotiate with other lawyers to arrive at a tentative decision. They help to file cases, prepare legal pleadings, and complete paper work and file documentation pertaining to the cases. They seek to expand their business contacts by continuously meeting new clients. For this they are required to advertise and network with the other lawyers.
If you are interested in becoming a family lawyer, you need to complete a four year undergraduate course says A. Harrison Barnes. You need to pass the LSAT or the Law School Admission Test, in order to enter into a law school. There are many other related courses that may help you to get into a law school like contracts, constitutional law, civil procedure and legal writing. Any student aspiring to become a family lawyer, need to pass the bar examination, this helps him to get accredited by the judicial system or the state of United States of America. The students need to have good interpersonal and communicative skill in order to solve the disputes arising out of the parties. You must be experienced in the field of civil litigation to get employed as a family lawyer. The deserving candidate must have knowledge about Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook to excel in his career says A. Harrison Barnes.
By: Elizabeth Martinez
Tagged with: Alimony • Child Abuse • Civil Unions • Custody Modification • Custody Of A Child • Domestic Partnerships • Domestic Relations • Family Attorney • Family Lawyer • Family Lawyers • Legitimacy • Marital Status • Mediations • Parental Responsibility • Power Of Attorney • Private Practices • Property Settlement • Purview • Settlement Issues • Wills
