What is a Power of Attorney and Why Should I Have One?

A power of attorney is a written document that allows you to appoint another person that you trust to act on your behalf in financial matters. Additionally, the power of attorney allows you to choose who your agent will be and what their powers will be. Of course, you do not lose the right to make those financial decisions for yourself. There are many reasons why a person, even if they are young and healthy, should have a power of attorney. A power of attorney appoints someone to manage your financial affairs, which is important if you ever are unable to manage your affairs or if you become temporarily or permanently incapacitated. If an emergency happens, there is someone with authority to make decisions. The future is unpredictable, and it’s a good idea to have this document in place to avoid the need to petition the court to have a guardian and/or conservator appointed for you. A power of attorney is also less expensive and less time consuming than having to go through guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. It is also a good idea to update who your agent will be in the event of a separation or divorce. The act of filing for divorce will terminate the agent’s authority if the named agent is your spouse, but it is a better idea to execute new documents and revoke the spouse’s authority as agent.

Written by Heather W. Winter, Esquire

Why you should use a personal property list when you make your will

     When you make your will, you plan what each person will receive at your death. While you may know what you want to do with the main part of your estate when you see a lawyer about writing a will, you may not have decided how you would want certain items of your tangible personal property such as your jewelry, furniture, tools, household goods and personal effects or certain precious memorabilia to go, or you realize that you may change your mind about these things over time as your circumstances or desires or the ages and circumstances of your loved ones change.

     Recognizing this, the Virginia legislature passed a law that lets you use a separate written and signed list and change it from time to time as you wish. In that way you do not have to list all your tangible personal property in  your will, and you can change the list whenever you want to without changing your will. This applies only to tangible personal property and not to money or investments. In other words, if you want to change who receives the monetary items, you must change your will. If you want to change who receives the specific items of tangible personal property on your list you need only change the list.

     It is important to remember that you do need to make a will. Just because you promise to give a child or someone you love your ring or your watch or certain pieces of furniture when you die, that verbal promise does not have any legal effect, and you must provide for the gift in a properly executed will or have a provision in your will that refers to your leaving a list signed by you stating who is to receive tangible personal property.

     If you make a list, you do not have to include everything on the list - just tangible things that you want to name specifically for certain people. Other things can just pass generally under your will to whomever your will designates to receive your tangible personal property, without specific items being listed.

Making it easier for an Executor or Trustee from another state to transfer real estate located in Virginia

When a non-resident of Virginia dies owning real estate in Virginia, it is now easier for the person who qualifies as executor or trustee in that other state where the will is probated to transfer property in Virginia to the beneficiary named in the will. The out-of-state Executor or Trustee will need to have an authenticated copy of the will admitted to probate in the Virginia county or city where the real estate is located, but if they meet the requirements of the new Virginia statute, they will not have to qualify again as Executor or Trustee in Virginia. This helpful new law is effective July 1, 2012.

Veteran's Benefits: A Window of Opportunity

Veteran’s benefits for Aid and Attendance (known as "pension") can be invaluable for a qualifying veteran or the widow of a qualifying veteran. This benefit can be up to $1,949 a month for a married veteran, and up to $1,644 per month for a single veteran, up to $1,056 per month for a surviving spouse. The program currently has very favorable terms for a person seeking to qualify for this benefit. However, this window may close at some time in the not too distant future. The General Accounting Office (GAO) has released a report suggesting that Congress should make changes to this program. The suggested changes include establishing a look back and penalty period for claimant who gift assets in order to qualify, similar to Medicaid rules. Currently, the VA rules are much less strict. Veteran’s benefits for Aid and Attendance can be particularly helpful to someone requiring care in an assisted living facility or when receiving expensive care at home. As elder law attorneys, we can help a veteran or a surviving spouse determine if they are eligible for such a benefit and what they can do to become qualified. Anyone who thinks they might be able to qualify for such a benefit would be wise to look into this promptly while the law is still very Veteran- friendly.

Early Detection of Parkinson's Disease

      Veterans face many tough realities and one of them for many Veterans is Parkinson's Disease. Researchers at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia, have developed a way to determine if a Veteran has a high risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a recent article in the Richmond Times Dispatch. Using cutting edge research techniques, doctors at the VA Hospital have found a way to make this determination by tracking eyeball movements. McGuire is one of 150 hospitals in the VA health system, and in the past three years it has doubled the number of physicians in its Neurology section. There are many resources available to Veterans who have served our country, and McGuire Hospital is one of them. As an Elder Law attorney, I try to bring important information about Veteran's benefits such as health care or the little known program commonly known as Aid and Attendance to my clients who are Veterans or surviving spouse's of Veterans so that our Veterans community will be served in the best way possible.

Planning for Your Parents (and Your) Future

When parents don’t plan for the future, this can leave them unprepared and can bring difficulties to their children as well.

Statistics from Pew Research show that nearly 40% of adult children financially assist with the support of elderly parents. Often parents wait until they are retired or nearly retired to plan and to talk with their children about financial matters. This makes good planning harder.

Some parents take the initiative to talk with their children about their finances; others don’t. If you are the child or children that your parents would turn to if they needed help, then you should initiate that discussion in an appropriate way if they don’t. It is never too early. Such conversations can be started by talking about your own financial planning and asking how they handled theirs, or by asking them if they have been thinking about retirement or what they think they would do if they developed health problems.

You need to find out in an appropriate way if they have done planning to cover them in case of death or disability. You need to know if they have authorized someone to act in case of emergency and where their important papers are located. You should find out if they have wills and powers of attorney in place. It would be helpful to know if they have long term care insurance and what retirement income they have or can expect.

If they are reluctant to talk with you about these things or you feel that more planning is necessary, you could suggest talking with an elder law attorney.

Beware of Fake IRS Websites

According to a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, fake IRS websites are growing. Foreign sources are sending emails and giving fake IRS websites that help them gain confidential information from you and steal your identity and/or your tax refund.

Remember:

1. IRS does not contact tax payers through email or social media.
2. If you receive an email claiming to be from the IRS, just delete it. Do not respond, do not open any attachments, do not click any links to websites.