Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Power of Attorney
Is there a Power of Attorney form for California that will allow a person to manage all financial, real estate matters, as well as have the ability to manage and make changes to a Will and Living Trust?
Thank you !
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Power of Attorney
Most estate planning or elder law attornies should be able to draft that for you. While there are free forms for creating such documents online and through software, I think you are going to have a hard time finding one that allows powers of wills and trusts. Furthermore, giving someone such powers might have significant estate tax consequences for them. Basically, if you are giving someone that much power over you, both you and they really should speak to legal counsel first.
Re: Power of Attorney
There is a form for Power of Attorney over medical issues, but to have the other powers, it would probably be a better route to form a trust and divise the powers and beneficiaries in that way.
Merely providing a blanket power of attorney to someone allowing them to change a person's will is effectively gifting to the other person and may cause state and federal tax consequences.
Control over another person's finances and real estate can, again, be done through a trust, or by naming the person as a conservator.
Our website NO-PROBATE.COM will answer many of these questions for you. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call our office (or contact me through our site) to make an appointment for a free consultation where we can go over the details of your situation in private.
Regards,
Scott