Finally made an appointment with CELA - any advice?

Anonymousjpl123

Soooo…with my mom safely placed in MC, and DPOA, etc. done, I have finally made an appointment with a CELA.

I am so clueless: what should I ask? Obviously will ask about financial planning and services. What else? It is really just an intake interview but a big first step for me. I have been thankful we have made finances work, but making appointment to know what I don’t know.

M1

I guess my question is, why now? Are there financial concerns you need to address? I'm not sure why you made the appointment now when she appears to be settled.

Lucy C

It sounds like you're asking the attorney for advice on handling your mom's estate and finances. Now that you hold the DPOA, you want to be sure that you're fulfilling your responsibilities properly: is that correct?

Many POAs are full of legalese, and it doesn't hurt to have an attorney go over it with you, since there are a number of things you can (and can't) do as an "agent of the principal." An attorney may also advise you if there are steps you need to take in regard to selling your mother's real estate property (for instance, filing your DPOA with the recorder of deeds or land records office in certain states).

Beyond that, unless you feel you need additional oversight, or your mother is the owner of extensive properties, you probably won't need to be in a lawyer's officer very often until (sometime in the future) the estate goes to probate.

The one thing you really should do is keep your mother's finances scrupulously documented, and retain all receipts.

Anonymousjpl123

Thank you all as always!! Truthfully I made the appointment to be sure I am handling everything right from a financial perspective: property, taxes, etc. I originally went to a family law attorney very experienced in dealing with this but we focused on POA, will, and Medical directives.

Victoria those are exactly the points I will ask about.

TY!!!

VickiZ

We haven't seen a CELA but back when my mom was still able to help more with decisions, we took her old will to a lawyer to look over and we had him draw up:

Durable POA naming both my brother and I equally and saying that we could act even if she were not incapacitated.

Medical POA

Real Estate POA for her house, naming both my brother equally and saying that we could act on the sale of her property even if she were not incapacitated

Beneficiary Deed for her house, this is filed with the county and is set in motion upon death of the property owner. The deed goes directly to those named as beneficiaries without going to probate and at fair market value at time of death. This means that there won't be any capital gains taxes if we sell the home soon after acquiring it.

Renewed her will, it was written ok but very old

My advice is to come away understanding your rights as a POA, understanding the POA you have and knowing if you need other documents as well as how to get them and how much they will cost. We had all this done in 2018 and I think it was $450.

I would also advise you to have a secondary owner on her bank account as POA doesn't mean that you can use her bank account for her needs. My mom's bank wouldn't even take our POA so we just made it a joint account. Make sure that any companies that your mom has dealings with has a copy of the notarized POA. We couldn't even make address changes without supplying the POA to those companies where she has annuities or other holdings.

Victoriaredux

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/221369#Comment_221369

While you have time I suggest you have these documents and how accounts are titled reviewed by an elder law and/or tax attorney .

This line "My mom's bank wouldn't even take our POA so we just made it a joint account. " if it means ownership was changed -it needs to be reviewed. Will it be considered a gift and impact medicaid ?

Sharing all the powers equally - what if you two disagree?

If one of the heirs named in the Beneficiary deed dies before your mother, then what ? Do a search for issues with transfers on death deeds. You maybe totally solid but worth an hour's review to be sure.

sandwichone123

If you get to the end of the session and have time remaining, I always like asking, "Is there anything else I should be asking?"

Anonymousjpl123

Thanks everyone! I am now on the fence about canceling the consultation: i have the DPOA, MPOA, and real estate deed. I was thinking of it more as an estate planning situation. We have plans in place if something happens to me.

Leaning toward an accountant appointment since most of my questions are financial.

Ahhhhh….thank you all for your feedback. I also always post hoping my questions may help others.