POA / In charge of elders money

[memenee]

A few random questions…..

My father has a ridiculous amount of money in a savings account. He has me named on the account so I can pay his bills and stuff. (He is unable to care for himself and make sound financial decisions)

1) because I am now named on the account is it viewed as my money as well In that I will get an end of year tax form and need to pay taxes? Or is it still viewed as “his” and he needs to pay the taxes?

2). As POA I have the ability to gift the max amount each year to certain parties. For recording purposes I just want to confirm - can I transfer the amounts to my personal account and then from there transfer the money to my fidelity which is linked to my account and from there set up custodial accounts for his grandkids? (My kids). Or does the money have to go from his account to specific peoples names in the exact amount allowable per year?

3) lastly because being poa is so fun I am now tasked with selling his home. Do I literally sell it from his name to new buyers name? Or is there any sort of thing I need to do first like transfer ownership to the “estate” or transfer to his kids first for any reason? Tax purposes?

Also if there is any resource like estate planning book or POA book anyone recommends I’d appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

[tacokick]

I’m on my dad’s accounts but he is listed first so he gets the tax info. That’s how the bank suggested we set it up. My guess is you are second on his account too. You would have equal access but he claims the interest.

Your state probably has a POA guidebook you can download. That has been a big help to me.

Setting up accounts for grandchildren might be better served under estate planning and a will. I would talk to whoever did the paperwork about POA about that. Our lawyer warned against the POA making any gifts. As he told us idea of a POA is to work in the person you have it over’s best interest and conserve as much money as possible for their care and needs not to be providing for other family members or charity.

I would talk to a realtor about selling the house, they would know how to do this. There is no estate of a living person. You would be selling the house to the third person on his behalf. Then the proceeds would go to your father.

[memenee]

tacokick I appreciate you taking the time to respond - this is helpful!

[flygirl]

Are you his only heir? If not, and he has a wall which sets the amounts everyone is to receive, you can’t just start transferring money to your accounts just because you have POA. If you are set to inherit all of it when he passes it might not be as big of a deal. But if you have siblings who are named in a will, and you’re taking from the pot the money is to come from, that’s a quick way to get yourself removed by nit doing what’s best for the person you’re POA for.

[quesyrah]

I was POA for my parents until their deaths this year.

1. It depends on how you are listed on the account. My parents had their accounts in their trust and I was listed as a trustee. I could access all the accounts but my SSN was not attached to the account so it did not affect my taxes.

3. I sold my parents house as POA to move them to memory care. You will sell the house using the POA. You’ll sign all of the documents as his name and then write your name “as attorney in fact.” The title company wanted 2 letters per parent from 2 different doctors stating that it was necessary for me to act as POA.

[gt7301b]

Do you have a signed Power of Attorney or are you just listed as a co-owner on his accounts?   If you are just a co-owner on his accounts you will need a POA to sell the house and access any accounts that you aren't already on.  (If you don't have a POA you can go through courts to get one, it just isn't as easy if it was done while he was able to make decisions on his own - In my case I worked with a lawyer to file the paperwork)

I would seek legal advice before gifting any money, especially if there are other heirs involved.  A lot of the procedures you need to follow are going to be state and even specific to the financial institutions you are dealing with.  However, as a general rule I would be cautious about co-mingling of assets or transferring ownership of assets.

[niq]

1) "it depends" in the way quesyrah said

2) I'm not a lawyer etc etc, but generally having the money go straight from your dad's account to the custodial accounts will make things simpler. Also, grandparents/grandparents' money can pay for educational *tuition* (not other educational expenses), including preschool, without it counting towards gift taxes. You would just send the check from your dad's account to the school.

3) This varies by state too. You might need a Specific POA document for real estate transactions. I would check with an elder or real estate lawyer in your state.

I'm sorry about it all. Hang in there.