Category: Estate Planning

“I have power of attorney because  I’m his wife!” As Elder Law attorneys we always recommend that clients have current, expanded, elder-law powers of attorney.  Sometimes there is confusion around those documents and we help our clients understand the reasons why we recommend them. First, many times a client assumes her husband can automatically act on her behalf simply because he is her husband.  Unfortunately, the law doesn’t recognize marriage as granting an automatic power of attorney.  For example, if a wife has her bank account in her name only, the bank will not allow her husband to withdraw money or otherwise manage the account.  As another example, if the wife owns a life insurance policy, the insurance company usually will not allow her husband to manage the policy or…

As of me writing this (late March 2020), we are definitely living in a very different time.  I don’t think of myself as “old” but I do have more than a few decades under my belt. I’ve never seen nor even imagined a time such as this.  The aging population during times of quarantine need to make sure things are in order by having the right Power of Attorney. This is a particularly rough time for my clientele, the aged in America.  They are suffering more than anyone from this current situation. They not only suffer more from the disease but they suffer from the imposed isolation from all but “essential” personnel.  Our elderly need companionship and they need someone there to help them since they are suggested from getting…