LAWS CHANGE IN A BIG WAY
Effective October, 2011 the Florida Legislature enacted sweeping revisions to Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes and the Florida Power of Attorney Act, regarding the contents of power of attorney. Although the recent legislative changes do not invalidate existing Durable Power of Attorney, those documents do need to be updated and revised to comply with the new statutory requirements and to avoid possible future questions about its effectiveness in certain situations. One example of the changes is this: All Power of Attorney are effective immediately. That is in great contrast to the documents that my office has drafted for almost twenty years that stated that the agent only had Power of Attorney after the grantor/ principal had been declared incapacitated or deceased.
The new Power of Attorney can be drafted and signed in one visit to my office.
Having your Wills or Trusts reviewed during the few minutes it takes to draft the Power of Attorney is free. If you would like to have your estate planning reviewed please bring the originals with you as well as any amendments that may have already been done. A very important part estate planning utilizing a Revocable Living Trust is having the trust properly funded. If you bring recent account statements we will be happy to take a look at them, checking that they are properly titled to the trust. Additionally, if you have purchased any real property since your trust was drafted bring that deed with you.
Remember, if you have a Revocable Living Trust and become incapacitated or deceased it is the Trust's successor trustee that is in charge of managing your assets. A successor trustee rarely needs the Power of Attorney document. If you don't have a Revocable Living Trust you should seriously consider getting one. When you call my office for an appointment, just ask and we will be happy to send you a DVD on the subject of trusts. The DVDs are free to Florida residents.
