What You Don't Know Can Hurt You, So Plan

Day two of Legacy Academy seminar 4/16/25

What you don’t know can hurt you

(Ad: Phinney’s Buffet is open Sunday with regular hours.)

Rebecca L. Anderson, attorney

Estate planning

A will is not enough

Financial Power of Attorney

For maximum benefit, your estate planning should be placed inside a financial power of attorney. Your estate plan should be reviewed each year or when your circumstances warrant it.

A financial durable power of attorney is a very useful tool not only at the end of end-of-life situations but is also highly beneficial while you live.

But you must act while you are in full possession of your faculties. This document, like all legal papers, requires one to possess full mental powers to execute it.

One measure of the adequacy

If your online document contains fewer than 5 pages, it is inadequate.  And even if you use a draft document from an online site, give it to a competent attorney to review it.

Better still, don’t use online legal forms. They can make matters worse, and give you a false sense of security.

Once you see the need, execute one promptly and select the option to start at once, not the one that springs in effect at near death only.

If you wait too long and your competency could be questioned, you would need two doctors to certify your status.  Who needs that stress at the last minute?

Health power of attorney

There are many questions that arise when we become seriously sick.  You need to designate someone to answer those questions when you are unable to do so.

For example, what kind of medical treatments are acceptable to you? Who will determine when to pull the plug? To what extent will you go to sustain life?

Trust, will, or both

joint tenancy with rights of survivorship

Even if a married couple has a joint tenancy deed with rights of survivorship, the survivor will still need a trust to convey the house to an heir. But that document can be executed after the death of the spouse.

Even if you set up a trust, you will still need a will to avoid confusion and run into items not formally put in a trust.

The pros of a revocable trust are, that it starts at once, it is easier to manage changes, it's private, and it is easier to designate and change beneficiaries.

Con

Expensive

Other factors

What if you or your spouse becomes sick or hurt in a serious accident?

What if your finances change, requiring you to get Medicaid and SSI.

You must put assets into the trust otherwise there are no benefits of having a trust.

Your agent needs a list of your usernames and passwords.

Legal consultations are $150 an hour.

HIPAA authorization

Personal property memorandum added to the will

Record all your digital assets. That means listing all your usernames and passwords and giving a copy to your family or your legal agent.

Speaker: Bill Vicary 864-621-0224

Email bill@vicarymanagaementgroup.com

92% want an end-of-life talk, but only 23% do it. Since

2016 we have had a digital assets act.

It is common for a person to have 20 or more usernames and passwords.

Here are some accounts that require digital data.

All insurances, auto, home, motorcycle, medical, life, etc.

Bank accounts and loans

Will, trust

Mortgage

Pet and vet

DD214 spouse needs proof of vets benefits

Utilities

Home services: yard, pest control, membership, clubs and alumni, collectibles and heirlooms.

Phone, PC, social media, insurance, email.

FIVE WISHES order it online. When you fill out the form and sign it, it becomes a legal document.

Samples of what you need to write down

How do I want people to treat me when I’m unconscious for long periods?

What do I want my loved ones to know?

Summary

Write down your usernames and passwords and give copy to your family or agent.