Is The Previous Power Of Attorney Still Valid?
Video Summary
Is a previous power of attorney still valid? Powers of attorney don’t have an expiration date, so they are valid and until revoked. The problem that you have whenever you have an old power of attorney, thats many years old and you present it to a bank or someone else, they may or may not accept it, which they may or may not be required to by law. So it’s probably wise that you go ahead and update your power of attorney from time to time. Florida recently changed the power of attorney statute, which authorized what they call superpowers, which would give your agent the ability to handle some of your IRA accounts, things such as that. One problem that people run into is if they have a trust in all their assets in the trust and they also give someone a power of attorney the person or agent who has the holds a power of attorney cannot deal with any assets that are titled in the name of the trustee’s name. Only the trustee or successor trustee can do that unless special provisions are made in the trust and the power of attorney. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos, Wills
How Do I Get My Deceased Parents Annuity?
Video Summary
How do I get my deceased parents annuity? The annuities are a life insurance product and they have a designated beneficiary. Most of the time, if it was your father’s annuity, he would’ve named your mother and vice versa. And they should designate an alternate beneficiary. But any about that is how you do it. If you’re the designated beneficiary, you have to send the death certificate to the company that issued the annuity or whoever purchased the annuity, and then they will send you the benefits of the annuity or give you any options as far as that’s concerned. So if there is no beneficiary or the beneficiary is deceased, then you must file a probate proceeding in order to obtain the annuity benefits. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Probate, Videos
How Do I Dispute Charges On My Credit Card?
Video Summary
How do I dispute charges with my credit card? You simply contact your credit card company if there’s a charge there that you dispute and the credit card company takes it, investigates it, and after a period, usually a 30 or 60 day period, they report back. Whether or not they’re going to require you to pay that charge or not. I think they show it is pending. If there’s fraud involved, you just flat didn’t do it. You need to let them know immediately and they will take that off your list. But you basically just need to contact your credit card company. And as far as I know, credit card companies do not require you to pay fraudulent ones, meaning someone stole your credit card and ran up some bills. If you notify them right away, then you won’t be responsible, and they’ll probably send you a new credit card. I have no expertise as far as credit card theft or consumer law. If you have questions, you can call me at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
Do I Have To Pay The Decedent Credit Card Bills And Medical Bills From A Joint Account?
Video Summary
Do I have to pay the decedent’s credit card bills and medical bills from a joint account which was maintained during his lifetime? And I am the co-owner? The answer is no. Creditors are required to file their claims in a probate proceeding, and if there is no probate proceeding, they have no way to file a claim and no way to recover whatever bills that are owed. This even goes to Medicaid liens. If there are no assets in the decedent’s name, they’re not able to recover these, and you have no responsibility to use the money that was in a joint account to pay the decedent’s bills. The joint accounts are by statute become the asset or the sole owner of the co-owner of the account. So if you have any questions, give a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning, Probate, Videos
How Do I Check The Tax Status On An Estate?
Video Summary
How do I check the tax status on an estate? Well, we’re fortunate here in Florida that Florida has done away with estate taxes. The federal government has raised the estate tax limitation to 12 million. So that pretty well takes care of most of my clients as far as having to worry about estate taxes. Whenever, if you do own real estate outside the state of Florida, and another state, that state may have an estate tax for the real estate that is situated out in, in their state. As far as income tax is concerned, the executor of your estate needs to file what they call a fiduciary tax return or 10 41 where they report any income that the estate or trust has received during the administration. And then if they’ve distributed out, well, then they’ll issue K one to the recipient of the money, the beneficiary. So that’s sort of a overview of taxes for estates and trust. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos