Hi...Mom is getting to that point in life where I have to step in. She has a Revocable Living Trust (RLT) from 1994 which was updated in June of 2004 after my dad passed in 2001. The updated RLT ... designates me to be her attorney-in-fact relating to 15 financial matters. The question is: Do I also have to be a designated beneficiary on all her bank accounts? Does it give me power to write checks on her behalf on her from her checking account...or do I need to close the account and open a new one and be JOINT owner of the account? Or does the designation of a POA already dictate that?
Make sure all of Mom's checking, savings, money markets mentioned the Trust. Same with any stock Mom should have.
My Dad forgot to place his stock into his Revocable Trust, and when he passed, since the stock wasn't in a Trust, it had to go into Probate. It's been over a year now and Probate is still humming along.