Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts
inheritance and guardianship
First, Thank you. What a great service.
An elderly couple that I have known my entire life have no surviving siblings (no neices/nephews) and never had children. I am their sole beneficiary. My 'aunt' is in a nursing home with Alzheimer�s. My 'uncle' is quite healthy, but due to have his knee replaced. I have health care proxy & power of atty over my uncle and he has both over his wife. (She became too ill to sign new versions) Their will leaves everything to each other, and then to me (consistently updated since 1991). My uncle and I jointly hold all bank accounts (my aunt has only a small one for her incidentals). Their home is in a �quid trust� - he owns the home alone, --she signed ownership over to him - with upon his passing it would transfer to me.
So my questions are: should I have a Rogers guardianship in case something happens to my uncle? Or should we only address that in the event that he can no longer perform these duties? And should their will be rewritten so that he basically leaves nothing (remaining assets would be his car and the bank accounts we hold together) to his wife (and nursing home) or does it not matter as they are married it would ''default'' to his wife anway?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: inheritance and guardianship
It does not sound like you need such a guardianship at this time.
Re: inheritance and guardianship
If there is a valid power of attorney and health care proxy, there should be no need for a guardianship, unless the POA fails to allow for certain Medicaid or tax planning needs. Unfortunately, I've had to handle five limited guardianship cases in the last 18 months where the POA proved to be insufficient.
Your "uncle" needs to sit down with an elder law attorney to review his plan, both to be sure that he has the funds he needs to live comfortably and that they will pass the way he intends. Please feel free to have him contact me.
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