Missouri Estate Planning Legal Questions

No there is no legal requirement to file a doctor's report regarding a POA. Realize that a person signs a POA to authorize another person or persons to exercise the person's legal rights to sign checks, contracts, or other financial. If a person has serious dementia that a doctor would say "this person is not mentally sound," then the person can not sign a POA. And if the person who signed the POA later has serious dementia, the persons authorized can still manage the financial affairs under the POA. As long as the person is mentally sound, the person can sign and manage his financial affairs OR the designated person can also use the POA for transactions. That is why POA's or DPOA's are common in this aging population.... Read More

Whether the person can sign a deed depends on how advanced the dementia is. If the person is able to understand what they are doing (that is, they are transferring property that they own to a buyer), then they can sign the deed and other papers. If a person has enough capacity to sign a deed, they would usually also be able to sign a disclosure. Also, depending on the scope of the POA, the POA may allow the attorney-in-fact to sign the deed.... Read More

It is a generally reasonable cost but I wonder if you really need a will. In the absence of a spouse Michigan law defaults to have your children inherit your estate equally. So do you really need a will? If you plan on doing a simple trust that is okay it can eliminate the need for probate assuming you properly "fund" the trust (e.g. change the ownership of all your assets to the trust). Your retirement accounts should have a Payable on Death feature that allows it to pass without probate and outside of a trust use it Miscellaneous Personal property can be divided informally so what assets do you have that really need to be probated? A car (anything with a formal title) does it all total less than $17K in value? If so there is a simplified probate action that ignore the will anyway. The Michigan forms for a health care declaration and a durable power of attorney can be used but do not forget the required acknowledgment for the POA under a new 2012 Michigan law that sets out what your attorney in fact can do.... Read More

Everyone needs a will and durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions and financial decisions. You can get the durable power of attorney off of the state's website, however this is bare bones and only deals with decisions when you are in a terminal condition. What happens if you are in an accident and temporarily disabled? An attorney can prepare much more comprehensive documents. The price quoted by the attorney is high so I would recommend that you interview several estate planning attorneys and find one you feel comfortable with as well as having a good price. Please look for an estate planning attorney as this is what they specialize in and this type of attorney will have more options available for your needs.... Read More

If your mom has capacity, SHE can request the items back. If she does not, hopefully, she gave you a Power of Attorney. If so, you can request the items back. If your niece refuses, you will need to take her to court, though. If there is no POA, then you would need to go to court to be appointed your mom's guardian/conservator.... Read More

It depends entirely upon the mortgage company and what your credit rating is. Your grandmother's death cancels the loan and makes it all due and payable. You are under the contract obligated to tell them she has died, although it is likely they will not otherwise know. If the mortgage is at a higher than market rate percentage and you have good credit and no more than about a 45/100 debt to income ratio they will be inclined to allow you to take over, but may charge you new fees as though a new loan is being taken out.... Read More

So long as you keep making the mortgage payments, the lender probably will not contact you. But, you should think about the title to the house. Unless you do something, the title will remain in your grandmother's name, but owned by her estate. The other heirs may not agree that you should have the house even after you pay for it. If the title is in joint tenancy, the surviving owner should file an affidavit to update the title.... Read More

The question provides very limited information. The mortgage company will likely accept payments, at least for a little while. It knows or will know that the owner is deceased, and this will impact its actions. Who will ultimately own the property will determine what Options you have. did your grandmother have a will, and if so, who are beneficiaries. if no will, the state's laws determine who receives her net assets. if you will not be ultimate owner, why would you want to pay the ultimate owner's mortgage debt. You need counsel to guide you through these issues.... Read More