How Do the Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives Fit into My Estate Plan?
Video Summary
How do the powers of attorney and healthcare directives fit into my estate plan? Well, these are items that are documents that are valid during your lifetime. The power of attorney, as well as your healthcare directives. They terminate upon death, where upon your will or your trust or other documents control what happens to your assets with your power of attorney. This is authorizing an agent, someone to act on your behalf. Some people say, well, I have power over someone. No, you are an agent for that person, and they continue to have the rights to deal with their property but authorize the agent under the power of attorney to also deal with their assets. Usually, you set these up called a durable power of attorney. The reason they’re durable is the power of attorney is still valid even if you become incapacitated and the person that deals with your agent does not have to verify that you are competent. You read about all the bad players on powers of attorney, and that they’re effective immediately, and they have the power to look at your estate as far as that’s concerned. Although they don’t have legal rights, they must act in your behalf, and so that’s the power of attorney. They should not have self-dealing. In other words, they should not use the power of attorney to transfer or convey assets from your name into their name under healthcare directives. It basically is to authorize a HIPAA waiver and to allow someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you are in the hospital. Also, the living will or dying declaration sets forth who you wish to make the ultimate decision to disconnect life support the statute set for three circumstances where you’re directing and authorizing your healthcare surrogate to disconnect life support. If you have a terminal condition and states condition or permanent vegetative state, and this takes place whenever you’re on a respirator, you’re not going to make it and you’re unconscious and they don’t believe you receive consciousness. So if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Guardianship, Videos
How Close Can a Neighbors Dock Be to Another Property?
Video Summary
How close can a neighbor’s dock be to another’s property? Well, this is something that is regulated or by the city or county, wherever the docks or waterway is situated. And they may have a code building code which extends the property lines and give setbacks as far as where you can construct these docks. If the docks, if there is no regulation as far as the particular city or county on setback requirements, then it’s controlled by the riparian rights, which is the rights of a property owner who is adjacent to navigable waters to be able to use their property. And you cannot put your docks so that it impairs or encroaches upon your neighbor’s riparian rights, which consists of the call warpage or their ability to construct a dock. Also, as far as adaptability, so that you can’t block their ability to go in and out of their property to get to their docks or the waterway. And one that’s probably not used is also bathing and swimming. So usually you don’t want to have a dock that would stop that, but most time that’s not a problem. As well as the view, you can’t block your neighbor’s view of their property rights. And so the riparian rights is a complicated area as far as that’s concerned, whereas the city ordinances or building codes, as far as setbacks are concerned, fairly straightforward. However, it only controls docks that are built after the passage of the particular ordinance. So if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Guardianship, Real Estate, Videos
What Are the Pros of Guardianship?
Video Summary
What are the pros of guardianship? Guardianship is usually something of last resort. Whenever you set up a guardianship, you ask that the court determine that the person is incompetent, and they take away all their rights. So, it’s a court proceeding. And so, the petition then requests that there be a person appointed as the guardian, which is the person in charge of their money. That’s called the guardian of the property. Also, the person who is charged with taking care of them and their wellbeing and health, and that’s the guardian, the person. So, this is a court proceeding. It’s somewhat expensive, and particularly the IT is supervised even after it’s established. As far as the guardians are concerned, they must file reports with the court at least annually as far as the physical condition of the ward or the person who’s been adjudicated, incompetent file accountings as far as the money and how it’s being spent. Get authorization to spend the money for the ward. So, the pros are pretty much the last resort, and as far as trying to take care of someone who is becoming incompetent and is dissipating their assets, people are taking advantage of them or they’re subject to scams or whatever. So, if you have any questions about guardianship, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Guardianship, Videos
What Are “Guardians Ad Litem”?
Video Summary
What are” guardians ad litem”? That is a term used in litigation. Whenever someone’s appointed to represent the interest of someone. An example of people who they’re appointed to represent is if you have what they call on unknown spouses are unknown heirs. They may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent this class of people in the litigation so that their rights are protected. Or if you tried to serve this person or cannot locate them and you want to be sure that their rights are protected whenever the court makes a judgment, you ask the court to appoint a guardian ad litem, to represent the interest of a defendant who you have served through construct the service of process. And, so that the guardian ad litem can appear and verify that you’ve either made service or process or had the person file something in their behalf. But that’s what a guardian ad litem is. It’s used in litigation to protect the interests of people who do not appear. And you’ve tried to serve through constructive service or through publication. If you have any questions about a guardian ad litem? Give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Guardianship, Videos
How Does A Guardianship End?
Video Summary
How does a guardianship end? Well, there are several scenarios as far as a guardianship is involved. Let’s first talk about what is a guardianship. That’s whenever you have someone appointed to take care of the ward, and the ward does not have all of their rights, as far as that’s concerned. It could be a minor who cannot have the right to contract till they reach of majority, and so you could have a guardianship for a minor who doesn’t have a right to contract. Then you have the incapacitated person who does not, is mentally not capable of executing their documents or they’re found to be incapacitated and therefore someone’s been appointed as their guardian.
Let’s start with how do you end a guardianship for a minor. Well, that’s fairly easy. Once they reach the age of 18, well then you can terminate the guardianship and you turnover whatever the assets are to the ward. That’s how that would end. Then you go to the guardianship where you have an incapacitated person and it can end if the person who’s incapacitated or the ward, if they petition the court and have their competency or competency hearing to show the court that they have their competency, that would terminate the guardianship. That rarely happens, but that is another way to terminate a guardianship.
The most common way, particularly when you have incapacitated person’s, is whenever they pass away, that would end the guardianship. Then the money would then pass to their state or probate proceedings as far as that is concerned. If you have a guardianship or would like some advice, you can contact our office. We have Erica Muns has joined our firm and has some experience with guardianship’s and would be pleased to meet with you and talk to you about the expense, and whether or not it can be terminated. Guardianship’s are court supervised proceedings. They’re closely monitored by the court, particularly the money involved. If you have any questions, give us a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Guardianship, Videos