Durable POA vs Revocable Living Trust
I just read your recommendations to avoid inheriting a financial mess in our local paper. We have a Ladybird Deed for our house. Except for our IRAs, which have primary and contingent beneficiaries, as well as our checking and savings accounts, our Durable POAs for me and my husband give our representative (me for him and my daughter for me), the legal power to conduct and handle all financial affairs. I believe this includes buying or selling property. We do not have a Revocable Living Trust. Our estate attorney indicated that a Ladybird Deed would convey our property to our kids upon our deaths, avoiding probate. As it stands, only our vehicles would go through probate. Everything else has designated beneficiaries. We have only one joint credit card. My husband and I also have separate cards. We didn’t think we owned enough for a trust. We also have Advanced Directives, , Healthcare Surrogates and Living Wills. We also each have an Preneeded Guardianship document in case either or both of us become physically or mentally incapacitated . Are we missing anything that you could recommend? We are in our late 70’s.
Terry Says
You gave your attorney a lot of money for all of that. It would have been simpler, and easier to change if necessary, if you had just started with a Revocable Living Trust. As long as you are joint owners of your checking accounts, you’ll be able to use the money. And as long as you have the Ladybird deed, as I understand it, you would be able to sell the house if he was incapacitated by a stroke. But do ask your attorney about that.
