Probate Law
As an attorney in fact under a Durable Power of Attorney you are authorized to act on the Principal’s behalf in certain financial and related matters.
Continue reading about RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF AN ATTORNEY IN FACT
An elder law attorney may be able to:
Preserve a portion of the applicant’s income for use by a non-institutionalized spouse;
Provide for the transfer of the applicant’s assets to certain family members without creating a penalty period under Medicaid law;
Protect life insurance policies and proceeds;
Protect retirement benefits and accounts;
Protect the applicant’s home;
Identify last minute expenditures that may be made for the applicant’s benefit without creating a penalty period for Medicaid eligibility purposes.
To have legal capacity to execute a document requires that the person signing have sufficient mental capacity to understand and appreciate the implications of the document.
Probate is the legal process by which a deceased person’s property, known as the “estate,” is passed to his or her heirs and/or legatees (people named in the will) after his or her death. Property which the decedent owned individually, items payable to the decedent or to his or her estate, or items held for convenience only in joint accounts must pass through probate for ownership to pass to the heirs. Jointly owned property, property held in trust, transfer on death accounts, and the proceeds of life insurance, retirement accounts, and annuities pass to the surviving joint owner or named beneficiaries without the necessity of probate.
