In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson explains that the responsibilities differ between a POA for Property Agent and a Living Trust Trustee.
Video Transcript:
Greetings, I’m Wes Coulson from Dent Coulson Elder Law, and this will be your Elder Law Minute. We’re happy to present these because we think we can help inform you as to the ways in which we can help you and the things that you need to think about relative to the elder care and estate planning journey. Hope you enjoy.
One question that we get every once in a while from people coming in, when we tell them they need a power of attorney for property is, ‘Well, do I really need one? I have a living trust. I have my assets in a living trust, and I’ve got somebody named as my successor trustee of the living trust. Isn’t that good enough?’ And the answer is no, it’s not. And that question provides a good forum for distinguishing between what your living trust successor trustee does and what your power of attorney agent does.
First, living trust trustee is only going to deal with assets that are in your living trust. So if you own any accounts that aren’t in your living trust, you need a power of attorney agent to deal with those, that may be getting them in the living trust if that’s something that as you’ve gotten older, you’ve let slip a bit. But the power of attorney for property agent is also going to deal with things like, for instance, you’re in the hospital for a few days, and you expect that after Medicare and insurance, you’re going to be getting a bill for about a hundred and fifty dollars, and instead, you get one for twenty-eight thousand dollars. Your power of attorney for property agent is the one who’s going to dispute that bill. If your Social Security, pension, other benefits get messed up, that’s the power of attorney for property agent who is taking care of those things.
So the quick, simple answer here is you need both. So, hope that helps. Thanks, have a wonderful day.
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“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
