What is a POA? Who can make a POA? What can you do with a POA?

When I read that Prince failed to leave a will or any known estate planning documents, I was shocked. The musician, who was notoriously hands-on with his music and its management, failed to prepare a plan for what would happen after his death. Prince left behind an estate estimated to exceed $300 million. While most of us will never accumulate that much money, we can still learn from Prince’s mistakes.

Mary and Amy attended the ribbon cutting for Lexington's new 21c Museum Hotel.

One of the most common things I hear from my estate planning clients is that they want to “avoid probate.” So, I’ve started asking them “why?” They tell me one of two things: first, they have heard that probate is expensive, or secondly, they don’t know why. In 1965, Norman F. Dacey published his well-known book How to Avoid Probate! Norman F. Dacey, while not an attorney himself, instructs the public to transfer everything they own into a Living Trust using one of the forms in the back of his book.

Elder law involves some traditional estate planning – wills, trusts, and powers-of-attorney. But an elder law attorney uses these devices to fulfill a client’s goals for the future while considering the costs of long-term care.

Inter vivos gifting should feature prominently in the estate plans for our middle class clients who may have accumulated considerable wealth.

Unique problems come with aging. Are your powers-of-attorney meeting your needs? What should they include and who should draft them? Article orginially published in the KBA's Bench and Bar Magazine.