Trusts

[BoatRatKat]

I know trusts are big in TV so hopefully someone can enlighten me. My parents have a trust and I'm the beneficiary and POA. We went to the bank together to have me added to their checking account for down the road if I need to help out. The bank said it cannot be done because of the trust. My question is what happens later if I should need to access that money for shopping, bills, house repairs or more importantly something extremely costly like assisted living? We couldn't possibly cover expenses such as that on our own. Hopefully, none of this will ever be an issue but it is a concern. I have no experience with trusts and my folks just had this set up a couple of years ago to make things easier for me with avoiding probate. I think I'll probably need to visit their lawyer with them to get clarification but before the wallet comes out thought I'd check here.

[villagetinker]

Yes, contact the original lawyer, if they are NOT Florida lawyers, IMHO, get a Florida lawyer to make sure everything is in agreement with FL law...

[dewilson58]

Probably need to visit with an attorney.

"A Trust" should not effect a financial POA. Most POA's include financial authority, but maybe your POA does not cover everything.

Sounds like the trust is a Living Trust, which does go around probate. This definitely does not effect you POA.

Plus............there is also a chance the Banker was misguided. Sad, but somethings you get different answers at different branches of the same bank.

Good Luck.

[fw102807]

When my husband's parents set up their trust they did not included the checking account but rather added his name to the account. They could open a new account with you and transfer the funds.

[BoatRatKat]

Yes, they used a well known TV lawyer whom I think probably steered them right, I hope anyway. The bank was...horrible. Not only were they incredibly rude but they made it sound like the money was being held hostage. Went to a different branch and had a decent discussion with someone who seemed to be much more knowledgeable but she said we could open up another checking account for the 3 of us but they couldn't transfer their checking account money out of the trust. She said POA can only handle non trust financial and legal issues. She mentioned something about having to petition the court if funds were needed for their care. My poor little dad said he could have saved himself a lot of money and trouble and just hid it all under his mattress.

[BoatRatKat]

When my husband's parents set up their trust they did not included the checking account but rather added his name to the account. They could open a new account with you and transfer the funds.

BTW, the bank told me they don't recommend this because if the parent got in a car accident and got sued then everyone on the checking account could get sued and vice versa. Just an FYI. All this legal junk makes it so hard to just do the right thing. Ugh.

[fw102807]

Yes, they used a well known TV lawyer whom I think probably steered them right, I hope anyway. The bank was...horrible. Not only were they incredibly rude but they made it sound like the money was being held hostage. Went to a different branch and had a decent discussion with someone who seemed to be much more knowledgeable but she said we could open up another checking account for the 3 of us but they couldn't transfer their checking account money out of the trust. She said POA can only handle non trust financial and legal issues. She mentioned something about having to petition the court if funds were needed for their care. My poor little dad said he could have saved himself a lot of money and trouble and just hid it all under his mattress.

That just does not sound right. That money is theirs and they should be able to draw a check against it to start a new account (at a different bank). That is no different than spending it to pay bills.

[dewilson58]

That just does not sound right. That money is theirs and they should be able to draw a check against it to start a new account (at a different bank). That is no different than spending it to pay bills.


Agree. That bank just lost a customer. Have your parents write a check to you and open a joint account at a good bank and say Bye Bye.

Another route to go............Online Banking. If your parent's bonehead bank has Online Banking....sign your parents up for that and from your recliner, you can start to transfer funds.

Good Luck.

[fw102807]

Agree. That bank just lost a customer. Have your parents write a check to you and open a joint account at a good bank and say Bye Bye.

Another route to go............Online Banking. If your parent's bonehead bank has Online Banking....sign your parents up for that and from your recliner, you can start to transfer funds.

Good Luck.

Yes that is a great idea also.

[BoatRatKat]

We've tried to get them to go the route of online banking but at this stage of the game it's too foreign to them and it scares them with all the identity theft going on. There's no convincing them.

[manaboutown]

Time to change banks due to how they treated you as well as the ‘legal advice’ about car accident liability they gave you.

The terms of the trust will address who can do what with the property therein. My pure speculation is that only your parents are named as trustees. Their bank account lies within the trust. Your POA is for one or both of them personally, but not for the contents of their trust.

[BoatRatKat]

Time to change banks due to how they treated you as well as the ‘legal advice’ about car accident liability they gave you.

The terms of the trust will address who can do what with the property therein. My pure speculation is that only your parents are named as trustees. Their bank account lies within the trust. Your POA is for one or both of them personally, but not for the contents of their trust.

This is correct, they are the trustees and I'm the POA. My dad was under the impression that as POA I could access the trust but apparently he misunderstood. My only concern in all this is when/if I need to handle their affairs, how would I pay for it if I can't access their funds. Bills can be paid online but some things wouldn't be able to be paid that way. Biggest concern is a major health crisis.

[manaboutown]

This is correct, they are the trustees and I'm the POA. My dad was under the impression that as POA I could access the trust but apparently he misunderstood. My only concern in all this is when/if I need to handle their affairs, how would I pay for it if I can't access their funds. Bills can be paid online but some things wouldn't be able to be paid that way. Biggest concern is a major health crisis.

I can understand that having been through helping my parents through their final years.

Perhaps the attorney who set up the trust could do the paperwork necessary so that you could do what will need to be done with the least difficulty.

[Bogie Shooter]

I know trusts are big in TV so hopefully someone can enlighten me. My parents have a trust and I'm the beneficiary and POA. We went to the bank together to have me added to their checking account for down the road if I need to help out. The bank said it cannot be done because of the trust. My question is what happens later if I should need to access that money for shopping, bills, house repairs or more importantly something extremely costly like assisted living? We couldn't possibly cover expenses such as that on our own. Hopefully, none of this will ever be an issue but it is a concern. I have no experience with trusts and my folks just had this set up a couple of years ago to make things easier for me with avoiding probate. I think I'll probably need to visit their lawyer with them to get clarification but before the wallet comes out thought I'd check here.

The law firm that created the trust should answer a simple question such as you have. This is nothing more than an explanation to you as how the trust should work.

[Dan9871]

We went to the bank together to have me added to their checking account for down the road if I need to help out.

Generally putting a child (i.e. you) on a parents checking account is a financial risk for the parents. If you get into financial difficulty your creditors could claim all the funds in your parents' checking account.

Maybe the lawyer who put together the POA for your parents didn't include your access to the checking account because he had seen too many cases where children had drained their parents' account. I'm not saying you would but the lawyer was in a position where he had to look out solely for the interests of your parents.

It's probably worth your time and money to go back to that lawyer and come up with a way for you direct the trust to pay your parents bills when they are not able to. Maybe in all the mumbo-jumbo stuff in the trust there already is a way to do that...

[dewilson58]

This is correct, they are the trustees and I'm the POA. My dad was under the impression that as POA I could access the trust but apparently he misunderstood. My only concern in all this is when/if I need to handle their affairs, how would I pay for it if I can't access their funds. Bills can be paid online but some things wouldn't be able to be paid that way. Biggest concern is a major health crisis.

May want to check, my Online Services allow me to transfer funds to another account at that bank, AND allow to transfer to another bank, to a specific account.

[BoatRatKat]

Thank you all for your responses, appreciate it. I guess the best bet is to ask the attorney who wrote it up.

[EPutnam1863]

Probably need to visit with an attorney.

"A Trust" should not effect a financial POA. Most POA's include financial authority, but maybe your POA does not cover everything.

Sounds like the trust is a Living Trust, which does go around probate. This definitely does not effect you POA.

Plus............there is also a chance the Banker was misguided. Sad, but somethings you get different answers at different branches of the same bank.

Good Luck.

I agree that the bank might have been misguided. My mother had a trust, and my brother had POA. So he took care of everything when she went into a nursing home.

[EPutnam1863]

Thank you all for your responses, appreciate it. I guess the best bet is to ask the attorney who wrote it up.

Potential problem here: Due to attorney-client confidentiality, he may not be able to share with you. Your parents would have to sign a form agreeing to release of info.

[EPutnam1863]

I think I know what the problem is. You may be right in that your father did not really understand what it is all about. POA is not the same as trustee. The trust would have to have a provision for POA to access the trust and the trustee would have to agree to withdrawals from the income that the trust creates. Sometimes there are provisions for unusually large withdrawals, requiring dipping into the principal. Yes, you will need permission from your parents to consult their attorney for further clarification. It would be best if your parents are also at the meeting so you can ask them questions if necessary.

[n8xwb]

Your best bet is to speak with the lawyer who wrote the trust. He/she can tell you exactly what your options are. Are you a trustee of the trust.? If not, perhaps your parents would like you to be now. I imagine that would give you access to the account you mention, as well as everything else in the trust. If they choose not to make you trustee until after they die, I am quite sure your attorney can write a POA that will give you access to funds in the checking account. A call to that lawyer to get the correct information is the way to go. Don't take the bank's word, my word, or anyone else's!!! Good luck.

[BoatRatKat]

Your best bet is to speak with the lawyer who wrote the trust. He/she can tell you exactly what your options are. Are you a trustee of the trust.? If not, perhaps your parents would like you to be now. I imagine that would give you access to the account you mention, as well as everything else in the trust. If they choose not to make you trustee until after they die, I am quite sure your attorney can write a POA that will give you access to funds in the checking account. A call to that lawyer to get the correct information is the way to go. Don't take the bank's word, my word, or anyone else's!!! Good luck.

We're going to call the lawyer together on the phone and if that doesn't work we'll make an appt to go in together to get this straightened out. We've been down this road with my FIL and it was beyond stressful. Just trying to make sure everything is in order. The bank has made this harder than it had to be with their incredibly unprofessional and rude "customer service". I'm still reeling over some comments. I need to just let that go. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

[NotGolfer]

I scrolled (albeit quickly) through all the responses and I'm not sure where you had the legal papers filed. If NOT in Florida...you really need to speak to an attorney here, locally. Laws vary state to state. We went to a seminar early in our time of living here and had a new will etc. drawn up. THEN the laws changed a bit a year or two ago so we went back. Good thing too as we'd thought we had everything needed and didn't so had that taken care of as well. The doctors and hospitals all need copies of your DNR or whatever it's called. You'll get asked about this at every juncture so it's good to get. A POA is needed so good to speak to an attorney to have those questions answered. We don't have a trust so maybe that's the difference. You'll not want to go into probate in FL as it will string all the legalities out over time.

[BoatRatKat]

Yes, their attorney is a well known Villages lawyer. My folks saw what we went through with my father in law's estate and about 2 yrs ago they had the trust drawn up to avoid probate so we wouldn't have to go through that again and yes, it was a hassle and drawn out. The hospital and their Dr. has a copy of their living will as do I. Thank you.

[JoelJohnson]

Two very good books to read are:

Living Trusts For Everyone by Ronald Farrington Sharp
and
Beyond The Grave by Jeffery L. Condon

Why not educate yourself before "trusting" a lawyer.

The last one (Beyond the Grave) has some very good examples of mistakes lawyers make, not always on purpose, just because of misunderstandings.

[Kirsten Lee]

Your parents can set up a new account in their names (not the trust) with you as POA and you as the beneficiary using payable upon death. You, with your power of attorney can access the account while they are alive and upon both of their deaths you will receive the funds. Accounts with payable upon death beneficiaries do not go through probate. I have been a banker for 32 years. In my opinion all personal bank accounts should have payable on death beneficiaries.

[rjm1cc]

This may have been mentioned above.
The POA ends at the death of the personal who made it.
THE POA should state that if the person becomes incompetent the powers continue. This will avoid a guardian ship.
The POA could specifically say that person can step in and perform the trustees duties, but again only while that person is alive.
Best way to handle the trust problem is to be named as the successor trustee.
The bank accounts can be set up so you have the ability to sign checks and you are not an owner of the account.

[retiredguy123]

The original post really doesn't have enough information to provide proper advice. Banks often will not accept a power of attorney prepared by someone else. But, the bank will prepare their own POA for you. I believe that this problem can be solved with proper communication with the bank to set up the account so the OP can withdraw funds from the bank. I don't think you need a lawyer. It's easy to tell someone to see a lawyer if you are not paying for it. The bank should solve this problem for free.