In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson explains how DCEL sets up POA for property for their clients in a way to include special provisions that do not usually come in the basic POA for property that most states provide.
Video Transcript:
Greetings, I’m Wes Coulson from Dent Colson 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.
When we prepare Powers of Attorney for property for our older clients, we prepare them with what we call “superpowers.” The basic power of attorney for property in most states does not include the authority to do things that fall under the heading of getting assets out of harm’s way in order to help qualify for government assistance to pay for long-term care. I like to call that the $25,000 power of attorney. Not because it costs $25,000, it costs the same as any other power of attorney would, but because it has the potential in many situations to save $25,000.
Why is that? Well, because if you need to move assets out of harm’s way and you don’t have those special provisions in the power of attorney, we’re going to have to go to court, set up at least limited guardianship, and ask the court for approval to be able to do the same thing that could have been done if those provisions had been included in the power of attorney.
So, what do you have? Well, you have number one, the expense of a guardianship: legal fees, court fees, Guardian Ad Litem fees. And you’re also paying out-of-pocket for the nursing home care for however many extra months it’s going to take to get all of that done before we can get the planning done. It’s really not uncommon for that to all add up to $25,000 in fees and extra nursing home costs that the right power of attorney could have saved you.
Is it important to have a power of attorney for property? Yes, it is. Is it also equally important to have the right one that can save you that major expense? Yes, indeed.
Thanks.
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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.
