There was scant time for blog writing this March. My wife (and Energizer Bunny) Carrie underwent bunion surgery in early March and our lives has been turned upside down ever since.
For more than three weeks she was confined to the sofa 24/7 bearing zero weight on her foot – due to a bunion. We have a client who had knee replacement surgery the same day as Carrie’s surgery who was up walking later that day. Not with a bunion, no sir.
Not brain surgery, bunion surgery.
Fortunately, the bunion removal procedure was a success. Carrie is now upright and in physical therapy learning how to re-wiggle her toes - due to a bunion!
What is a bunion you ask? It is a bone-like protrusion that develops on the side of your big toe that, aside from looking odd, can become very painful over time. If not addressed, it can even alter the arrangement of your other toes. Carrie suffered increasing foot pain before it became obvious she needed a surgical repair. In fact, her bunion had worsened to the point the surgeon had to break the neighboring toe to re-align the digits.
It’s never a good sign when the surgeon’s post-surgery comment was “that was a complicated bunion repair”.
I can’t remember if Seinfeld ever made fun of bunions; I know he poked fun at goiters and even podiatrists, but the word bunion sounds like comedic gold. They really should change the name to no longer rhyme with “onion” because no one takes it seriously enough.
The life lesson for your children and grandchildren is to wear the proper footwear in their prime years. High heels, fashionable but uncomfortable shoes, flip-flops and even excessive barefooting can all cause a myriad of foot issues later in life.
I tried my level best at caretaking this month, I’ll let Carrie respond how effective it was. I joke that for thirty years my T-shirt drawer worked like a PEZ dispenser; I remove one and another one pops up– an evergreen supply. Guys, I can attest it doesn’t work that way, you have to do laundry – frequently – the same goes for boxers and socks.
I have become more proficient at washing dishes, feeding cats, preparing meals, shopping, vacuuming and other housework – all after my day job running a $100 million wealth management practice.
The moral is not sympathy but rather my deep new appreciation about the ardors of housework, my sincere gratitude to my wife for carrying way too much of the housework load all these years and the utmost respect I have for working mothers who balance many spinning plates for decades, not just a few weeks.
With the stock market so tranquil, it seems like a good time to discuss a really important estate planning subject, one that we see too many folks get a non-passing planning grade – a modern durable legal power of attorney (“POA”).
We’re dealing with an increasing number of POA issues which made me re-realize how important these estate documents truly are.
The purpose of a POA is to grant another trusted person – your agent – the power to make an array of personal financial and property transactions – they literally have the legal right to sign your name on your behalf.
There are many types of POAs, commercial and personal; the ones we’re concerned about are durable and health care POAs. Let’s review the durable POA today and save the healthcare POA for a future blog.
A durable POA document confers the legal right for an agent to act on behalf of another once the principal is mentally incapacitated. Note that a POA agent gig is only valid during lifetime, all agent powers and duties terminate at the death of the principal.
The POA is an extremely powerful document and essential to effective elder care planning; it is also rife for abuse. Oftentimes, POA abuse is perpetrated by a family member with questionable character who should never have been named as an agent during the principal’s (mental) healthy times.
It goes without saying that you must select your POA agent carefully. It often makes sense to name co-agents requiring dual signatures for all POA transactions. Naming a successor agent is also a good idea should the primary agent be unable to fulfill their duties.
Every state has a power of attorney statute that mandates the form and shape of a valid POA. If you reside outside of Pennsylvania, you’ll need to seek legal counsel expert in your state’s peculiar POA law.
In 2015, the Pennsylvania POA law was significantly modified, the effect of which was to render many existing POA documents obsolete. If your POA is dated before 2015, it is still valid but it may not accomplish more complex transactions in your elder years. It is possible, even likely, that a pre-2015 POA document needs legal attention.
The gist of the 2015 Pennsylvania POA law limits the power of an agent to take certain actions unless authority is expressly granted in the POA document. These are now referred to as “hot powers” and include:
- Create, amend, revoke or terminate a trust;
- Make a gift, charitable or personal;
- Create or change rights of survivorship ownership;
- Create or change a beneficiary designation on a financial account;
- Waive the principal’s beneficiary rights on a joint-survivor annuity, including a pension;
- Enable the principal to qualify for government-assisted nursing home benefits;
- Disclaim property.
Granted, these actions are more complex in nature but any could become important should you become legally incapacitated. It would be unfortunate if your future POA agent was handcuffed because of a dusty, outdated POA.
What if you don’t have a durable POA document, old or new? Well, the Pennsylvania Orphans court will name a guardian to handle your legal/financial affairs and that’s just asking for a bad outcome.
As part of your spring cleaning, root out your existing POA document and note the signature date. It may be time for a newer model.
Until next time, be well….Tim