How Can I Let My Children Help Manage My Finances?

What Does a Power of Attorney Do?

A POA designates an agent and can be tailored to allow your agent to handle specific matters, including real estate transactions, banking, investments, insurance, business affairs, taxes, government benefits, retirement benefits, estate matters, litigation, and beneficiary designations. You can also authorize your agent to make gifts and transfers, while limiting certain transactions or transfer amounts to help prevent misuse. A POA terminates upon your death, and your agent’s authority ceases.

What is a Convenience Account?

A convenience account allows an authorized user to conduct transactions on behalf of the account owner, solely for the owner’s benefit. When the owner dies, the funds pass according to the account’s beneficiary designation or, if none exists, to the owner’s estate. NY Banking Law governs the distinction between convenience and joint accounts, but the lines can blur due to an account owner’s lack of understanding of that distinction. An account owner’s goal may not translate into their reality because they do not know what to ask for.

How Does Joint Account Ownership Work?

Adding someone on your account as a joint owner allows each owner full reign over the money in the account. Furthermore, when one owner passes away, the surviving owner becomes the sole owner of the account, which means the surviving owner has the right of survivorship. Some parents use this option because they trust the child they added as a joint owner to split the funds with their surviving siblings. However, the surviving owner has no legal obligation to split those funds.

Need Help Making the Right Decision? Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer

Aging can make managing finances increasingly difficult, but granting someone else financial authority has important consequences during your lifetime and after your death. Consulting an attorney who is experienced in estate planning and administration can help you understand your options and choose the arrangement that best protects your interests and achieves your goals for your family.

By Erin Cullen, Esq. 

Erin Cullen, Esq. is an associate attorney at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. focusing her practice areas on Trusts and Estates. Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. serves clients from New York City to the east end of Long Island with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, Manhattan and East Hampton.