Many states are under the uniform power of attorney act which helps with the difference in location problems which may arise between states. So if you have a POA in one state it may or may not be valid in another. And real estate transactions may be done differently.
FL also requires registration of POA to do real estate.
If a bank in FL does not accept a valid POA it may be responsible for attorney’s fees etc.
You have to have Durable POA (vs General POA) to take care of someone incapacitated.
Which may require physician letters etc to invoke it.
A POA may be “stale”–a bank may deem it too old to be accepted on the chance that there is a newer one out there. Good idea to have them renewed every few years.
SO…check with an attorney for a POA that works in your state. While you can download a form and fill it in it may or may not be valid when you need it most.
I recently was using a POA that my adult son had executed a couple of years ago, in order to do some transactions involving one of his bank accounts (he lives out of state now); and our bank made me sign a statement that the POA was still in effect.
I contacted a lawyer and helped my SMom make a list of heirs she wanted to include.
Her heirs are only her birth family members so I do not stand to benefit.
I forwarded the list of heirs to the lawyer, with her intended distribution (A, B, C levels of inheritances). The lawyer visited her AL for signing; I was not there. I have also not seen a final copy.
The WIN to me is that I am no longer the executor for SMom’s will so if Dad passes first, we can tidy up his separate accounts and I can get on with my life.
In Virginia, I filed my will with the county, when I filed my deceased husband’s will. It was relatively low cost. I think I wrote two checks that day. One was $50. The other was $5 or $15!
This! It’s really important that the person has a will and has appointed an executor.
It’s really important that the executor know where the documents are. It’s also important that passowrds, keys, names of lawyers, accounts, etc be available. (I’d include wishes for funeral in there. Bonus for an obituary!)
The executor doesn’t have to know the details of distribution. Having been the executor of choice in our family (parents, childless aunts, etc and having had to deal with folks and their spouses and kids who may have expectations), I have requested that they leave a letter with the will explaining their choices as well as they can. This has been a huge gift! To be able to say "I gave Sue the down-payment for her home in 2018 so have reduced her distribution accordingly " or “I did not include the grands because it felt unfair to give so much less to the children who were childless” – was so helpful, as was saying why certain items were left to certain people. “The 2 paintings are more valuable as a pair so I am gifting them together.”
None of this is terrifically helpful if you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t want to think about it, but it often helps if they realize you’re just concerned that there is a plan, not what it is.
Recording a will prior to death is not something I’ve seen in our jurisdiction as a regular practice. Interesting.
We are using trust vehicles for privacy purposes. Our D can serve as POA for either one of us and is my medical guardian. She has copies of those documents and knows where the rest is.
Mom’s estate will be wrapped up soon and I’ve learned a lot. The cars weren’t difficult to transfer but it’s easier if the executor is also on the title. Mom said numerous times she needed to get rid of things - she was right! I wish we had done that when she was living, but I didn’t want to think about her not being here.
Yes. But some of our elders are very secretive about their wishes…hoping ours has given her will to someone!
Funeral plans could be a whole other thread. We were advised to prepay my mom’s funeral expenses, and we did the same with my dad and his cemetery stone.
My MIL has told us what she wants, but no one is prepared to carry out her plans which involve a mass, reception, and burial not in the state she or any of us lives in. Who knows what will happen with that?
Mom prepaid for her funeral and that was a real blessing. She always said she’d picked scripture and hymns, but that was nowhere to be found. Our pastor was a huge help in that regard. I really wish I could have located her instructions instead of being pushed into something I didn’t want to deal with (I.e. two services).
Having funeral plans in the will, if a family member doesn’t HAVE the will, is not a good plan.
Our issue is no one wants to plan a funeral in a state not where we live, have a church service at a church the parent has NEVER attended and doesn’t even know the priest’s name, etc. It’s a wish MIL has conveyed that just might not happen.
To be clear, the funeral plans, beyond cremation, were not in the will. But they were left for me – right down to the speakers, the program, etc. Very helpful in "negotiating " with the pastor!
My mother did this. She left the clothes she wanted to be buried in and detailed instructions of what she wanted. I am not sure where the instructions were (maybe with the clothes or maybe with the lawyer). My father followed these instructions when she died.
Our county Probate Court has a fireproof vault in which, for an administrative fee, a person may file a Last Will and Testament, plus any codicils – unopened, of course. This provides a safe place for the LWTs, it prevents family members or other persons from getting their hands on a LWT improperly, and it prevents accidents from happening with the LWT. The key is to make sure that the person or persons named as executor know that the LWT has been filed with the Probate Court.
Our county definitely does not do that. A few of the law firms will hold originals where the firm is the executor or its a particularly important client.
Our prior attorney filed the wills as part of her service. If her files burned or we lost our copies, we would not be intestate.
Our more recent attorney was surprised that I filed mine, but I was at the courthouse filing for deceased H and handed a copy of mine over as well.
The clerk who helped me indicated that it’s fairly common where we live.
Editing: I have a friend in NYC, an only child, and an attorney by training, who was unable to find her father’s will. Her mother had died previously. Her parents had shown her the will years ago, but my friend was unable to find it after both died.
Her parents’ lawyer was deceased and whoever took over that practice was unable to find any files. Here we are 5-6 years later and she’s still putting pieces together.
The paperwork has been complicated. First, there’s an assertion that once there was a will. I don’t know at what point the state of NY allows it to move ahead intestate.
She also needed to get the court’s permission to sell their assets.
She’s also still chasing down a life insurance policy and had to find an EIN that was issued (perhaps for a life insurance trust).