Why You Need a Power of Attorney
Why You Need a Power of Attorney
When I first heard about a “Power of Attorney” I figured it was what you got after finishing law school and taking the Bar. The good news is that a Power of Attorney is much simpler than that! There is no rigorous three years of law school required to get a Power of Attorney, instead you just need a few documents, someone who DID go to law school who can help you (Gary Quackenbush!) and a clear head to make some decisions.
So what is a Power of Attorney document all about and why do you need one? Watch this video of Gary and Coronado Real Estate agent Ruth Ann Fisher on the Craig Sewing Show as they discuss how a Power of Attorney could have saved Ruth Ann’s in-laws a lot of grief when her father-in-law was seriously injured and unable to sign real estate documents right as they were about to sell a house.
*Power of Attorney discussion starts at 2:16*
Power of Attorney (P.O.A.) : A document giving someone else power to act in your behalf.
This can be absolutely essential, in health care, end of life, financial and business decisions if you were to become legally incompetent. Without a Power of Attorney document, there may be no way for your family members or business associates to carry out your wishes, sell your house, run your business, etc.
There are three types of Power of Attorney in California.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
A healthcare POA allows you to choose someone to be your representative, called an “agent,” and make healthcare decisions for you if you were not capable or able to make them yourself. This comes in to play most often due to illness, injury, or incapacitation.
A Living Will, another essential part of a complete Estate Plan, usually only covers life-sustaining medical treatment. A Healthcare POA covers a lot more situations and is not limited to terminally ill or permanent coma situations.
Why do I need a healthcare POA? We understand that these health care possibilities are things that most people don’t like to think about. Most of us think “That will never happen to me!” The problem lies in the fact that accidents and illnesses do happen and we have little to no control over whether or not they happen to us. Think of it like car insurance, nobody wants to get in a car accident and getting insurance isn’t saying that you will get in accident, its just the right thing to do to protect yourself and those around you. Setting up a healthcare power of attorney will save your family members a lot of problems and potentially conflict, should something happen to you.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Power of Attorney
HIPPA governs how and with whom healthcare providers share your healthcare information. A HIPPA POA allows you to clearly allow your “agent” to receive all your healthcare information.
Why do I need a HIPPA POA? Due to the restrictions set in place to protect your privacy, even with an agent designated as a healthcare power of attorney, without a HIPPA power of attorney, healthcare providers may not be able to share all the details of your medical situation with the person you set up as your agent on your Healthcare POA. Your “agent” needs all of your healthcare information in order to make an informed decision on your behalf.
Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney allows you to choose who will be able to act on your behalf in a number of financial and business situations if you were unable to do so yourself. This is the type of POA that would have helped Ruth Ann’s in-laws when they were about to sell their house and her father-in-law was seriously injured and was unable to sign the Real Estate documents. Since both her mother and father-in-law’s names were on the deed, without a durable POA set up, there was nobody else who could sign for her father-in-law.
Why do I need a durable POA? A recent Forbes article that is referenced in the YouTube video above spells it out clearly
“If you do not have a Durable Power of Attorney and are unable to manage your affairs, a court may need to appoint a guardian or guardians to act on your behalf – often without your input or agreement. And in the meantime, critical financial or business decisions or transactions won’t be carried out – and that negatively impact you or your loved ones.”
All in all, you need a Power of Attorney so that if misfortune strikes, there can be order and peace with your life and your affairs. Make the decision today to protect your future and make an appointment to come in and set up some Power of Attorney documents with San Diego’s expert estate planning attorney Gary Quackenbush. He’s been helping people just like you for years and can help you understand the ins and outs of the documents and make sure that everything you want gets lined up.
Call us today at 858-549-8600 or 855-MY-GQLaw
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This information is general information about California law. Laws change frequently. This is not a substitute for professional legal counsel. Please come in to our office for a free consolation to get advise about your individual situation.
Top CEO’s on How to Conduct Meetings
Top CEO’s on How to Conduct Meetings
Drake Baer, Business Insider writer and entrepreneurship expert, shares some fantastic principles from a few of today’s top execs on how to conduct meetings. Here are a few excerpts from his article (full version here):
Opsware CEO and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz likes to have one-to-one meetings.
Horowitz, who spends much of his time mentoring young leaders, says that most important job for a CEO is to architect the way people communicate in a company.
The one-to-one meeting is essential to that process, he says, as it’s the best place for ideas and critiques to flow up from employees to management.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sticks to a strict agenda.
Sandberg brings a spiral-bound notebook with her to every meeting. In that notebook is a list of discussion points and action items.
“She crosses them off one by one, and once every item on a page is checked, she rips the page off and moves to the next,” Fortune reports. “If every item is done 10 minutes into an hour-long meeting, the meeting is over.”
The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs kept meetings as small as possible.
He ran meetings with a similar minimalism. He hated when they were too big, because too many minds in a room got in the way of simplicity.
Jobs carried the same standard with himself: When US President Barack Obama asked him to a meeting of tech darlings, he declined. The guest list was too long.
Google CEO Larry Page says no one should wait for a meeting to make a decision.
“No decision should ever wait for a meeting,” the email reads. “If a meeting absolutely has to happen before a decision should be made, then the meeting should be scheduled immediately.”
As you can tell, there’s no perfect agenda, no perfect structure and no one size fits all answer on how to conduct meetings. The idea is to make sure employees feel like their opinions are heard, that ideas come out and that there’s no settling for mediocrity.
Here at GQLaw we like to meet with you one-on-one to help you with your tax, legal and financial questions. We look forward to spending time with you!
SWOT Analysis
When your car starts to make funny noises and quits running well, what do you do? You either stop to do a check-up or you take it to a mechanic. But what about when your business is struggling and you’re not meeting your goals? That’s where SWOT analysis comes in.
SWOT analysis is a method used to understand the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats of a company and provides both a high level and in depth look at internal and external factors; a sort of business “check-up.”
Investopedia says:
“The method of SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis and separate it into internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is completed, SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results.” http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/swot.asp
Basically, you look at what’s working/not working on the inside (strengths and weaknesses) and what could happen both good and bad on the outside (opportunities and threats). Here is a visual example of a company considering a government contract (click to enlarge):
Just like procrastinating a trip to the mechanic could cost you big when your car goes belly up, it’s best to perform business “check-ups” regularly. SWOT analysis is a great tool for doing so.
As always, GQLaw is here for your tax, legal and financial check-ups. We look forward to hearing from you.
What is Estate Planning?
What is Estate Planning?
We write a lot here on the blog about “Estate Planning” but I realized that some people out there may not know what Estate Planning is, means or includes. Read on for a simple explanation of what Estate Planning is and what it can do for you.
An estate consists of anything you own that has value such as your car, house, life insurance policy, checking and savings accounts, investments, jewelry, etc. I have done estate planning in San Diego for 25 years and one thing has never changed – no matter how big or small your estate may be you need an estate plan.
Simply put, estate planning is a written plan of who will own your things when you die, what they will receive, and when they will receive it. That explanation of estate planning sounds a lot like a will, however a good estate plan includes a lot more than just a will.
Estate planning also includes:
- Instructions for your care if you become disabled
- Naming a guardian and inheritance manager for minor children
- Transferring your business when you retire, become disabled, or pass
- Minimizing court costs, unnecessary legal fees, and taxes
- Obtaining a life insurance policy to provide for your family at your passing
Estate planning is a continuous process
Estate planning is not a one-time thing, but is a process that needs continuous attention. The reason it should be a continuous process is because your family, financial situation, or estate planning laws may change over time.
Everyone needs estate planning
A common misconception that many people have is that estate planning is for the “rich” or the “old and retired”. They couldn’t be more wrong. Estate planning is for everyone – rich, poor, old, or young – especially if you have children and/or any assets in your name.
There is no better time that now to get your estate plan started or updated. My staff and I would love to help! Please give us a call at 858-549-8600 and we’ll get you a free consultation to meet with us and get your own estate plan going.
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This is a blog post with general information and is not legal counsel. Please come in to our office or that of another professional to get legal advise about your particular situation.
Estate Planning in your 30s: Must Haves
Estate Planning in Your 30s: Must Haves
While we often think of Estate Planning as something important for “older” people, think 40+, it really is something for EVERYONE! We at GQ Law just can’t stress that enough. Estate Planning is for everyone- all ages, all walks of life. This particular post is dedicated to Estate Planning in your 30s.
We love this recent article on DailyFinance.com. It give great tips on Estate Planning in your 30s for the younger generation and lists out the top 6 Estate Planning moves you should make (documents you should create with an attorney) in your 30s. Read on for a summary and click over here for the full article. Then call us at 858-549-8600 or 1-855-MY-GQLaw to get started on your Estate Plan today.
1. Last Will and Testament
Most importantly a last will and testament makes clear who will inherit your possessions and assets when you die.
2. Living Will
This outlines your wishes if you are incapacitated or in a persistent vegetative state.
3. Durable Power of Attorney
This document identifies who can make financial decisions for you, pay bills, manage your assets, etc. if you are incapacitated.
4. Health Care Proxy
This sets up someone who can make medical decision on your behalf and can help clear up a lot of family stress should you be in some sort of accident. Think: You got on an awesome cliff jumping trip with your buddies and get majorly hurt, in the hospital both your mom and your wife have different opinions on the care you should receive- who gets the final say? This document clears up that situation.
5. Life Insurance
Term life endurance is a generally inexpensive way to make sure your loves ones aren’t left with a major financial pain if something happens to you.
6. Retirement Fund
Even though retirement may seem a long way off, there is no better time to start saving now. Take advantage of retirement savings matching offered by your employer (think 401K) as well as other retirement savings options such as an IRA or Roth IRA. Talk with an experienced financial planner to find out which is best for you. Need to get connected with a planner? Contact our office and we can help you out!
Other tips for 30-somethings:
In your 30s your life is likely changing, maybe marriage, maybe kids, maybe purchasing property, etc. Make sure you keep your information and especially your listed beneficiaries up to date, in writing, on your financial documents.
So, is it time to change your #1 beneficiary from mom to spouse? Need to make a guardianship assignment for your kids? Let us help you update or start your complete Estate Plan today. Lets make sure your loved ones and assets are protected! 858-549-8600
Pet Lovers, Take a Lesson from Joan Rivers
Pet Lovers, Take a Lesson from Joan Rivers
The recent passing of 81-year-old comedian Joan Rivers has left both friends and fans mourning and estate planning experts cheering. Not because she’s gone but because she did a fabulous job estate planning-wise. She had a complete and updated estate plan, unlike the many Hollywood stars we learned lessons from in this post.
Rivers had a simple estate plan, with no spouse, most all was left to her daughter. This estate plan specifically included a plan for her beloved dogs via what’s called a Pet Trust which you can read about in our GQ Law blog post from February of this year.
While many pet owners don’t even (more…)
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Creditor Claims
Creditor Claims in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, all creditor claims are put into one of three classes: Secured, priority, or unsecured. Read on for a quick lesson on how to know which type of claim is which.
Secured Claims are held by creditors who (more…)
Baby Steps: Personal Finance
Baby Steps: Personal Finance
Money. One word with lot’s of emotions behind it. Today, we’d like to change gears a bit and talk about personal finance. Here are what Dave Ramsey calls the 7 baby steps to financial peace:
1: Get an emergency fund
Save up $1,000 for when those emergencies happen. It’s not a matter of if they will happen… it’s a matter of when. If your income is (more…)
October 15th: Tax Day the Sequel
October 15th: Tax Day the Sequel
We all know the dreaded April 15th is Tax Day. However, there is a less infamous cousin of Tax Day: October 15th, the deadline to file taxes for those who received an extension for filing.
The IRS allows taxpayers to request a six month extension to complete their taxes. I am sure those businesses and individuals immediately felt a sense of relief at the time when their extensions were granted. Last year, over 12 million individuals requested an extension according to the IRS.
Fast forward six months, and the dreaded October 15th deadline is looming over their heads again if they had not planned ahead. Understandably, life gets busy and people put off dealing with their taxes when more immediate matters require their attention, especially if they run small businesses.
So this is a friendly reminder to all you extension filers out there to do your taxes by October 15th!
It is important to remember that the six month extension is for filing only; it does not extend the time you have to pay your tax liability without penalties. What if you cannot afford the taxes you owe the IRS or are having other tax related problems?
California Attorney Gary Quackenbush has been helping people like you resolve tax problems with the IRS through Offers in Compromise and Installment plans since 1988. He knows the IRS and will fight for you. Make an appointment to meet with him for your free consultation soon to see what he can do for you to help alleviate your tax problems. Call the office at 858-549-8600, 855-MY-GQLAW or click here to request your free consultation online.
Estate Planning: Not Just for the Wealthy
Estate Planning: Not Just for the Wealthy
According to CNBC’s latest report about Estate Planning
There’s a common misperception that estate planning is reserved for the wealthy, as an attempt to shield assets from the grasp of Uncle Sam—but nothing could be further from the truth.
We here at GQ Law couldn’t agree more! EVERYONE needs (more…)