The bank told me to sign the bank's POA form. That's ok, right?

I recently read a very good article by Ottawa lawyer Donna Neff, which I encourage all of you to read. In the article, Ms. Neff talks about what to do if you have a Power of Attorney (POA) document already in place, but the bank asks you to sign their form of POA as well. Click here to read the article.

As Ms. Neff discusses, you don't have to sign a bank form when you already have an enduring or continuing POA in place. The POA you already have will cover your bank accounts as well as the rest of your assets. You could accidentally revoke your POA by signing the bank form.

However, I would like to point out that there are circumstances in which someone might well want to use the bank form instead of an all-encompassing POA. For example, it's very common that a parent wants help with the banking. The two most common ways that individuals respond to that situation are a) put one of their kids on the account as a joint owner, or b) sign a POA that allows the kids (or other named person) to control all of the parent's assets.

Adding a child as a joint owner when all you want is help with the banking is an absolutely terrible idea 90% of the time, but that doesn't seem to stop anyone. Signing the POA at the lawyer's office is a much better option by far, but it too has limitations. If all you want is help with the banking, is there any need to hand over control of your home, investments, cabin, and personal belongings?

There is a third option. That is, the bank POA form.

For an individual who does not yet need to hand over power over all assets and does not have an enduring or continuing POA in place, signing the bank form can work well. The bank POA form only allows access to a certain account that is chosen by you. It doesn't convey ownership or mess up your will the way adding a joint owner does. It limits your chosen person to dealing only with your one account, so you limit potential losses.

This is one of many options. If you think this would work for you, consider talking it over with an estate-planning lawyer. While the bankers have a good understanding of how the form works within their bank, they are not in a position to give you legal advice about whether this is the best option for you in the context of your whole estate. Any estate planning step you take should be considered as part of the bigger picture. It's worth it to spend a few minutes chatting with your lawyer.

Village in Holland created just for patients with dementia

What would you think of a village created for individuals who suffer from dementia? It would have supermarkets and parks, just like any other village, but would also have security gates and medical personnel throughout the village. I heard about this in a blog post by Toronto lawyer Ian Hull. Click here to read Mr. Hull's post.

I love the idea. It combines the security and supervision provided by the traditional long-term care facility with a much more normal lifestyle. Why place our precious parents or grandparents in a place where they live in one room when the same medical and care benefits can be provided in a place where they have a whole village?

It has been done in Holland, according to Mr. Hull's post. I don't know of any such place in Canada or the USA. No doubt there would be immense financial and logistical issues to creating one, but I think the benefits to our seniors would be tremendous. It would also benefit society at large if it reduced caregiver burnout, elder abuse, and the trepidation felt by families who cannot care for their loved ones.

What do you think?

If the will says my husband receives his inheritance "to do with as he sees fit", does he have to share with me?

If your spouse inherited a substantial sum of money from his or her parents, would you expect your spouse to share that with you? You might be surprised. A reader recently wrote to me to discuss what happened after her husband's mother passed away. Her question and my answer are below:

"My mother-in-law passed away with a will. My husband is the executor and I’m the alternate executor. The will gives her daughter and her daughter’s son a very small share of the estate; the deceased did not get along with her daughter. The will gives the rest of the estate to my husband "for him to use as he sees fit". A few months after my mother-in-law's death, my husband of 30 years decided to separate from me, and he will not give me a share of the inheritance. I was close with my mother-in-law and helped her many times. I believe she would want me to have something under her will. Can I contest this?" 

There is very little here to suggest to me that a challenge to the will would be possible. When someone is left a gift to do with as he sees fit, he can share it out as he likes, or keep it all to himself. He has full discretion to decide what to do with the money.

There is little point speculating as to what the deceased "really meant" unless there is a challenge based on undue influence or lack of mental capacity. Neither of those things are supported by what you've said. The fact is, the deceased put her instructions in writing, and those instructions said that he can do what he likes with the inheritance. If she wanted to leave you something directly, she could have done so. As you were married at the time your mother-in-law died, it makes sense to think that she might have expected her son to share his inheritance with you, but she did not instruct him to do that.

It's also worthwhile to look at what would happen if by some chance you were successful in contesting the will. Without a valid will in place, the estate would be distributed according to local intestacy laws. This would leave out the grandson entirely. It would then give the rest of the estate equally to your ex-husband and his sister. According to what you've said, the deceased didn't want her daughter to receive a large part of her estate. This arrangement seems even further away from what the deceased wanted.

If the estate were to be distributed on intestacy, you would not receive any part of it. A daughter-in-law has no automatic right to claim a part of the estate. The fact that you helped your mother-in-law, even if  your help was extensive, does not automatically entitle you to a share of her estate either.

As a general rule, when spouses separate or divorce, they cannot claim money that was inherited by the other spouse, so I don't think you will have success there either. However, that is something you may wish to take up with a family law lawyer.

Feds find couch change in forgotten accounts

An article from www.globalnews.ca speculates as to why sometimes people don't close their bank accounts, leaving a total of $1,400,000 unclaimed as of the end of 2013. Click here to read the article, which gives details about how long unclaimed money is held before it is paid to the federal government.

I suspect that many of these abandoned accounts had been held by individuals who passed away, and whose executors and family members were not aware of the accounts. I suggest that anyone acting as an executor should consider contacting the Bank of Canada to check for forgotten accounts.

Estate planning after your second marriage

A blended family can definitely be a challenge, on several fronts. If you have re-married, you should take some time to think about how your estate would be divided on your death. You probably don't want to leave all of your loved ones to fight it out among themselves. I recently read a very good article from www.huffingtonpost.ca that talks about estate planning for those of you who are in second or subsequent relationships. It's definitely worth checking out, so click here to read it.