SENIORS AND THE LAW is authored by the attorneys at
Jackson White Attorneys at Law and addresses legal issues that arise for the
elderly and their families. Questions
can be sent to firm@jacksonwhitelaw.com.
Q: Years
ago, my father added me to what I believed were all of his financial
accounts. The rationale here was that he
wanted me to manage his funds in the event that he became unable to do so
personally. He has since digressed into
severe dementia and most of his funds have been depleted. I recently discovered that he has an IRA account
on which I am not named. Dad does not
understand how to close this account and access the funds – is there any way
for me to do this for him?
My
first question to you would be whether or not your father executed a financial
power of attorney while he was able. It
sounds like he wanted you to handle his affairs, as evidenced by him adding you
to his other accounts, but unless he executed a power of attorney memorializing
as much, you cannot access his IRA on his behalf. Sadly, this would be true even if the IRA held
his last sum of money and he was in desperate need of those funds for
sustenance.
If
your father does not have a financial power of attorney, and he did not
designate you as his agent under a power of attorney of the institution that
holds his IRA account, you would need to petition the court for conservatorship
in order to access those funds. In a
case like this, I would suggest seeking a limited conservatorship, just to
handle the single transaction of closing the IRA. Limited conservatorships are simpler in
nature because they do not have the same accounting requirements as full
conservatorships. In short, if your
father did not execute a power of attorney, and if this is the only transaction
you need to handle, a limited conservatorship could be a very suitable remedy
to your dilemma.
Richard White is
an elder law attorney at JacksonWhite Attorneys at Law. For more information on Elder Law at
JacksonWhite, please visit www.ArizonaSeniorLaw.com
This article is
provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace
individual legal advice.
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information about Jackson White Elder Law or to download any of their free resources, feel free to visit:
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