Illinois Elder Attorney Blog

by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193

Sometimes a power of attorney is not the best way to insure that someone you choose will be ready to help you when you need it.

In these situations a better choice may be to set up a trust.

A trust can have, built into it, helpers who are able to help you when you are unable to visit the bank on your own. The helpers named in a trust are known as trustees. The trustees you choose are much more able to assist you than the agent in a power of attorney.

You can be the trustee of your own trust. The successor trustees you pick are ready to help you when you need it.

Banks and brokerage firms do not get in the way of successor trustees in the same way they do with agents under powers of attorney.

by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193

There are several important questions to consider when deciding whether the person you are considering is a good pick to be the agent under your power of attorney.

1. Will they do what I want them to do? If they will not carry out your wishes then do not pick them even if you may hurt their feelings.

2. Will they have the strength to do what needs to be done? If they are not able to deal with tough questions and tough people who will try to sway their minds then do not pick them.

3. Are they good with money? If they can not balance their own checkbook they are not likely to balance yours. If they do not keep good records then they will get themselves into trouble when they lose track of your money.

4. Will they consider the job to be a burden? If they look at this as a burden then they will not pay enough attention to your finances.

5. Will they give in to outside influences? If the porson you pick is married to someone you do not want involved in your affairs then do not pick them. You do not want them to choose between their duty to you and their spouse.

6. What happens when the person you pick becomes ill themselves? You must pick a back-up agent to serve if your first choice is not available.

If you have no one who fits all the requirements then you still have an option.

Pick the person who is closest to the ideal then pair them with a professional.

A trust company can lend expert advice to the person you believe has your best interest at heart. When a family works with a professional trustee they have the perfect reason defense against people who would ask them to do the wrong thing. “The trust company is in charge of that”, is the easy way for them to get out of tight situations.

In any case we recommend that a trust company be named as a back-up agent against the day when the person you have named is unable to perform the task.

Looking for housing for yourself or a family member can be a tedious process. The details can be hard to sort through and can lead to information overload can lead to snap decisions made more from fatigue than because the perfect fit has been found.

The National Association of elder law Attorneys (NAELA) helps seniors find housing quickly and easily. This is no magic bullet but it makes the work much easier.

The new tool, available at www.naela.org , helps elders and their families search through over 60,000 senior housing communities, including all of the licensed senior housing facilities. Seniors can search by location (city, county, ZIP code) facility name, special services, and payment options.

The NAELA Senior Housing Locator makes it easy to sort through the 247 different senior housing license types. The Locator also provides a simple way to review nursing home and rehab community inspection reports. There are also links to the nursing home comparison pages on medicare.gov.

This new search tool really streamlines the process of narrowing down housing choices.

Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193