I have one offspring. She is 33 years old,married and lives in the USA. I am 64 years old, widowed, in relatively good health and I live in Mexico. If all goes well, I will precede my daughter in moving on to the next plane. I would like the transition to be smooth. And am thinking that giving my daughter Power of Attorney will make this much easier. Any thoughts, advise on this?
I think you’re right, and it’s extremely smart to be doing it early while everyone has their faculties intact and there’s no rush or disagreements.
You’ll need to talk to a lawyer about the details. In the US, at least, I often see people who set up multiple powers of attorney - one for medical, one for finances, for example. If you have enough assets, the attorney might recommend a trust.
The one piece of specific advice I have: if your daughter ever has authority over foreign assets, trusts or bank accounts, she’ll have forms to file with the the IRS. Here’s a good overview from the IRS. Don’t let this requirement stop you from doing what needs to be done in the legal side of things; just make sure she doesn’t get hit with penalties over requirements she’s not even aware of.
Assuming you’re British, you’ll want an Enduring Power of Attorney and register it with the Public Guardianship Office. Your EPA should not be a blanket one but one which activates in certain circumstances, like incapacity.
I’ll let the Mexican Dopers handle that end.
Powers of Attorney do not survive your death.
smack:
Yes, IIRC, power of attorney can be qualified - i.e. it only kicks in when certain circumstances are met.
The other thing is to make a list, every so often, of what she needs to know. Bank accounts, incomes 9and where they go - many are direct deposit nowadays), regular bill payments, credit cards, property and mortgages, location of will, etc. If you have regular bills or contracts (i.e. leasing out the home back in the old country) be sure she knows where to find the paperwork as to lease terms, how to tell if the tenants have paid the rent, how the rent comes in…) If you’re the tech-savvy type who posts on websites, you could keep these details in a document. (Just be careful emailing this sort of detail around).
Basically she’s stepping in to run your life. Not as big a deal for you compared to her, if you end up in a hospital bed permanently; but if it’s a short episode and a month or three later you’re fine and up and around, it’s nicer to know some of the headaches are handled.
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
This is true at least in the U.S., I dunno about other countries.
Other things for the OP to consider–again, in the U.S.–it is you, ie the person granting the power–who should contact an attorney to discuss your options here. As noted above, there are a variety of instruments that can be used for various purposes–healthcare decisions, asset management, etc. You may also want to consider a will, if you do not already have one, and possibly a trust or other vehicles useful in avoiding/minimizing probate costs.
Also true in Canada, once you are gone, your will (if you have one) takes over.
Why are you asking us instead of a Mexican lawyer who can actually answer the question?
My understanding is that in general, a Power of Attorney won’t help much in dealing with your estate once you’ve gone on to the next plane. What you want in that case is a good will and a good list of assets.
A Power of Attorney would be helpful if you’re alive but incapacitated (say, by a stroke) and your daughter needs to do things like pay your bills out of your funds.
But again, you need to talk to someone who understands Mexican law.
IANAL. I am a former social worker who used P of Atty as a standard working tool though.
What you want, generally speaking, is a *SPRINGING *Power of Attorney, i.e., one that goes into effect when, but only when, you yourself are deemed unable to take care of your own responsibilities. Before that point, it is not in effect.
You can also (if you choose) delineate which powers you are conferring, rather than conveying the entire range. In the US in NY, at least, you can be highly specific in the constraints put on a Limited Springing Power of Attorney, for instance “I authorize ___ to pay my rent and hospital bills, endorse and deposit my checks into Acct# ___ as they should arrive, consult with my physicians and make medical decisions on my behalf but not to include authorizing removal of limb or insertion of assisted breathing or circulation apparatus or insertion of gastro feeding tube for intervals exceeding 96 hours. No other authority is to be implied or presumed as a consequence of this document”.
Are you looking to give her power over assets you hold in the US? (if any - not sure if you’re a US citizen). Over assets in Mexico? Both?
My assumption is that you’d need two different documents in that case, one for each country.