If there is any doubt that the person signing a power of attorney is not of sound mind or if there is even the slightest hint that someone in the future might challenge the person's capacity to sign a power of attorney, then make sure you have at least one disinterested person witness the execution of the document, preferably a nurse, social worker, or other health care professional who has elder care experience.
Make sure the power of attorney gives the attorney-in-fact the power to make gifts.
Make sure you obtain duplicate originals of important estate documents. Your attorney should have one set, but attorneys have been known to move, die, or simply lose documents that they're not supposed to lose. So keep an extra duplicate original in a safe deposit box at a bank, and perhaps a set in a strong box in the basement.
Keep an entire set of all important papers in the same location. Death or incapacity is not the time for a scavanger hunt. And don't forget to tell several people where those papers are located.
Make sure someone else has joint access to your safe deposit box.
Don't mix apples and oranges. When you hire a lawyer, that lawyer has a duty to provide you with independent legal advice. If the lawyer tries to sell you life insurance, elder care insurance, annuities, mutual funds etc, then run for the hills. And if the lawyer aggressively pushes the name of a person who peddles those kinds of products then ask yourself why: Attorneys have been known to have recipical relationships with accountants, insurance sales people, and so-called finacial planners -- a relationship which is often based upon factors other than that person's qualifications.
For 99% of the population, life insurance should be used for one and only one purpose: To provide a finacial cushion for those who survive your death. Life insurance should generally not be used as an investment. Indeed, in my experience the only people who recommend life insurance as an investment are those people who sell life insurance.
Buy low cost term life insurance and not expensive whole life insurance.
Don't call your attorney every day with a single question. Many attorneys work for an hourly fee, billed in 6ths, 10ths, or quarter hour increments. If you call your attorney every day with one question, then the attorney is probably going to charge you at least the minimum billing increment each time you call. If you save all of your questions for a single telephone call, then in many cases the attorney can answer all of your questions within the same minimum billing increment.
Pay your attorney what you have agreed to pay her, rather than trying to haggle the price down after the work is done. Most people don't negotiate doctor's fees or the price of a loaf of bread at the grocery store, and lawyers' fees should not be treated any differently. And before you b*tch about the legal fees, please remember that you went to see the lawyer in the first place because he or she has specialized knowledge that you don't have.
I'm on a roll, but I have to run
If there is any doubt that the person signing a power of attorney is not of sound mind or if there is even the slightest hint that someone in the future might challenge the person's capacity to sign a power of attorney, then make sure you have at least one disinterested person witness the execution of the document, preferably a nurse, social worker, or other health care professional who has elder care experience.
Make sure the power of attorney gives the attorney-in-fact the power to make gifts.
Make sure you obtain duplicate originals of important estate documents. Your attorney should have one set, but attorneys have been known to move, die, or simply lose documents that they're not supposed to lose. So keep an extra duplicate original in a safe deposit box at a bank, and perhaps a set in a strong box in the basement.
Keep an entire set of all important papers in the same location. Death or incapacity is not the time for a scavanger hunt. And don't forget to tell several people where those papers are located.
Make sure someone else has joint access to your safe deposit box.
Don't mix apples and oranges. When you hire a lawyer, that lawyer has a duty to provide you with independent legal advice. If the lawyer tries to sell you life insurance, elder care insurance, annuities, mutual funds etc, then run for the hills. And if the lawyer aggressively pushes the name of a person who peddles those kinds of products then ask yourself why: Attorneys have been known to have recipical relationships with accountants, insurance sales people, and so-called finacial planners -- a relationship which is often based upon factors other than that person's qualifications.
For 99% of the population, life insurance should be used for one and only one purpose: To provide a finacial cushion for those who survive your death. Life insurance should generally not be used as an investment. Indeed, in my experience the only people who recommend life insurance as an investment are those people who sell life insurance.
Buy low cost term life insurance and not expensive whole life insurance.
Don't call your attorney every day with a single question. Many attorneys work for an hourly fee, billed in 6ths, 10ths, or quarter hour increments. If you call your attorney every day with one question, then the attorney is probably going to charge you at least the minimum billing increment each time you call. If you save all of your questions for a single telephone call, then in many cases the attorney can answer all of your questions within the same minimum billing increment.
Pay your attorney what you have agreed to pay her, rather than trying to haggle the price down after the work is done. Most people don't negotiate doctor's fees or the price of a loaf of bread at the grocery store, and lawyers' fees should not be treated any differently. And before you b*tch about the legal fees, please remember that you went to see the lawyer in the first place because he or she has specialized knowledge that you don't have.