Читать книгу Powers of Attorney - Martin Shenkman - Страница 7

Getting the best legal document possible may be a great start. And in most cases that is all that anyone does. But it is not enough. A comprehensive power of attorney is only the bones of your plan. Without addressing practical, common sense steps, your power of attorney plan (not just the document) will not provide you the security, control, or protection that you seek. These practical steps are not always addressed by professional advisers and remain squarely in your court. If you don’t assume responsibility for the effectiveness of your plan, it won’t happen.

Example: You’ve named your kid brother, a tech and finance whiz, as your agent. He certainly has the wherewithal to handle anything you might need done. But he also has his own family, responsibilities, and an incredibly demanding job. The real challenge isn’t his integrity or ability to help, but having to shoehorn the additional responsibilities into his overloaded schedule.

You can minimize the burdens on your agent by organizing and making readily accessible the information he or she will need to act on your behalf. Consider what key information your agent might need to act:

•Contact data for key advisers (e.g., the lawyer who drafted the document).

•The location of a primary checking account to pay bills in an emergency. Giving the agent the institution name, contact data for a person, account number, password if applicable, and other data in advance may be critical.

•Identify additional essential financial data needed to act in an urgent situation.

•The whereabouts of all your passwords, account numbers, and similar information.

•Information as to what bills to pay and other immediate action steps might be necessary.

Tip: Consider asking your agent to go to the bank and see what obstacles are encountered in using a power of attorney. You may need to complete a bank form power to facilitate your agent paying bills from a particular checking account. That bank form might then supplement the more comprehensive power you prepare. You might also consider having your agent run the same obstacle course for your stock brokerage account and, if you are taking distribution from, an IRA you have. The difficulties you uncover should more than convince you that the extra upfront cost of using a funded revocable living trust might be a wise investment (see Chapter 8).

Caution: If you have multiple powers of attorney, be certain that the language in each power does not undermine the effectiveness of the other. For example, some powers will include a clause revoking prior powers. State law might also have an impact on the effectiveness of prior powers when a new one is signed.