Everyone Must Have a Durable Power of Attorney – Do You?
Many people mistakenly think that they have control over loved ones property by virtue of being a parent, a child, or a spouse. This is wrong! If you are disabled (hospitalized, nursing home) and unable to act for yourself no one else can deal with your property. No one else can speak with social security, the IRS, the bank, even a utility provider if the account is solely in the unavailable person’s name. This even includes assets that are jointly held. Everyone, even young adults, should have a Durable Power of Attorney appointing someone they trust to immediately step into their shoes. Otherwise that loved one will need to get a guardianship and/or conservatorship to gain access, which is time consuming, burdensome, and extremely expensive.
Durable Powers of Attorney have strict requirements state to state. For example, Maine has statutory notices that must be in every Maine Durable Power of Attorney. Grabbing one on-line is not a good solution and puts you at risk for having invalid documents.
Don’t ignore this critical document and leave your assets unprotected. EVERYONE must have a Durable Power of Attorney today.
Kathryn Bedell 12/12/2018
Retirement Accounts: Make sure you don’t Waste your Retirement Money on Unnecessary Taxes
Do you own an IRA/401K/Annuity or other retirement “pre-tax” account? When was the last time you checked the beneficiary designations on those accounts? You could be wasting your retirement money on unnecessary taxes.
We often forget that giving retirement accounts to our heirs comes with a tax. Most of these accounts are “pre-tax,” meaning that you have taken a pass on paying income tax until later. That promise to pay carries over to your beneficiaries. Most companies will prompt you for a beneficiary when you set up the account, but that could have been years ago. Things change, a beneficiary may have died, you may have divorced, etc. You always want to make sure you have “primary” AND “contingent” beneficiaries on these accounts. The tax savings you will pass to your heirs is enormous. If your primary beneficiary predeceases you, in a common accident for example, and you don’t have a contingent beneficiary named, that account will default to your “Estate” when you die. Estates are taxed (Federal and State) at the very highest income bracket there is. Moreover, individuals can usually spread out the tax liability over the rest of their lives. Estates have to take the money in a set time frame, meaning potentially one-half of the money will needlessly go to pay completely avoidable income tax. The tax savings you are passing on to your loved ones is enormous.
So, update those beneficiary designations and make sure you have a contingent beneficiary named on all these types of accounts.
Kathryn Bedell 12/3/2018