On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, at 10:00 a.m., I will be conducting a seminar on Advance Directives at the Mill Creek Senior Center in Mill Creek, Washington. The class focuses on all aspects of Powers of Attorney, Living Wills and the POLST form. The program is sponsored by Evergreen Healthcare.
This Wednesday, August 3, 2011, I will be conducting another “Are Your Affairs In Order?” class at the Maltby Church in Snohomish, Washington. The class focuses on all aspects of Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills. The program is sponsored by Evergreen Healthcare.
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article about Durable Powers of Attorney and their potential for abuse. The article set out several recommendations to ensure your Power of Attorney will be honored and adhered to, as well as tips to minimize the potential for fraud. Among the recommendations:
Given the potential for abuse in this area, it is almost always a good idea to build in more safeguards than less.
In addition to the seminar on Advance Directives I am scheduled to give on April 15 at the Peter Kirk Community Center in Kirkland that was already posted, I am also speaking on general estate planning topics at two additional events. One is on April 21, 2011, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Northshore Y in Bothell and the other is on May 11, 2011, at the Redmond Senior Center in Redmond, Washington.
I am scheduled to give a seminar on Advance Directives and End-of-Life issues at the Peter Kirk Community Center in Kirkland, Washington on April 15, 2011. Recently, the Wall Street Journal ran a good article touching on a number of issues I’ll be covering.
An increasingly important aspect of a person’s financial life is that many people now receive and pay bills online and/or through email. Similarly, bank, brokerage and retirement accounts may also be maintained and accesses electronically. A bill may come via email and if an executor or attorney-in-fact does not know the password access may be difficult if not impossible to gain. Even worse if you cannot check a person’s email, you may never know an account exists. It is now increasingly important for people to maintain a list in of online business activities and the passwords that correspond with those activities. Such a list will go a long way toward helping your family administer your affairs if you are unable, or after you pass on.
The evening of Tuesday, April 20, 2010, I will present an estate planning seminar at the Bellevue, Washington offices of Waddell & Reed. This presentation starts at 6:00 p.m. and is scheduled to run until 7:30 p.m. Also, on Friday, April 23, 2010, financial planner David Harry and I will conduct an estate and financial planning seminar beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Northshore YMCA in Bothell, Washington. Each presentation will focus on estate planning in a world with and without the federal estate tax.
A Durable Power of Attorney is the best way to ensure your affairs are managed if you become incapacitated or disabled. A durable power of attorney will either become effective when you are incapacitated or remain in effect after incapacitation depending on how it’s written. Once the durable power of attorney becomes effective, the person appointed to act for you, called an attorney-in-fact, is allowed to pay bills, invest assets, file tax returns and sign contracts among other things. You should also include language so health care decisions can be made when you are unable to communicate. You may want to inform the attorney-in-fact what, if any, medical treatment you want administered at the end of your life. If you do not have a power of attorney, a guardianship proceeding may be necessary to appoint someone to manage your affairs. These proceedings can be long and costly so a well drafted power of attorney is definitely worthwhile.
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a nice article on the importance of Advance Directives including Living Wills and Health Care Powers of Attorney. These documents are used to inform medical providers, family and others of your wishes regarding your care when you are not able to communicate with them. Washington State has a prescribed form Living Will, however, you are allowed to add more detail and guidance to the form. Equally important is the Health Care Power of Attorney by which you select an individual, often a spouse or adult child, to make medical decisions on your behalf. These documents are often included in a comprehensive estate plan.
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