Get Familiar With Our Legal Terms

DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR FINANCES – Gives authority to your agent to act on your behalf on financial matters. Be sure that your Power of Attorney is “Durable” so it will continue to be effective even after your incapacity. Also, be sure it has been updated recently to comply with current Kansas Law.

DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE – Allows you to appoint an agent to make medical decisions when you cannot do so. Your agent is also able to obtain your medical records and talk with your medical providers. Be sure it has been updated to reference the HIPAA privacy act.

LIVING WILL – Expresses your wishes about “end-of-life decisions” when you are unable to communicate your wishes. It should discuss “terminal condition,” “ongoing coma,” and “dementia.” Be sure that nutrition and hydration are not cut off arbitrarily, thus hastening death.

ANATOMICAL GIFTS – Allows for donation of needed organs to others. May authorize the use of the body for medical research.

WILLS – Sets forth your wishes regarding the distribution of property at death. Allows for designation of the person (Executor) authorized to settle your estate. Even if all of your assets pass by beneficiary designation, having a Will reflecting your wishes is still wise. (Caution: A Will does not avoid probate.)

SIGNOR ON BANK ACCOUNT – Adding a person to your bank account as a Signor allows them to write checks on the account. This designation does not make them a co-owner. This authority ceases at the death of the Owner.

JOINT TENANT WITH RIGHTS OF SURVIVORSHIP – Two or more people co-own an asset. At the death of one, the survivor will own the asset outright. Caution: It may not be wise to put a child’s name on as a co-owner. If a co-owner has legal problems, it may affect the title or ownership of the asset.

PAY ON DEATH ACCOUNT – A designation on financial accounts directing that upon the Owner's death, the account passes to the beneficiary. The Owner may revoke this designation without the signature of the beneficiary. Legal problems of the beneficiary will not affect the title to the asset during Owner’s life.

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION – Such designations allow annuities, life insurance, and retirement accounts to pass to the named beneficiaries upon the death of the Owner. Note: These funds are not available to pay bills unless the beneficiaries voluntarily agree.

TRANSFER-ON-DEATH DEED – A Deed that passes ownership at death. The Owner may cancel this designation without the signature of the beneficiaries. Beneficiaries’ legal problems during the lifetime of the Owner will not currently affect the title or ownership of the asset.

GUARDIANSHIP DESIGNATIONS – To designate a Guardian of a minor child under

age 18, a Will is needed. Note: Young couples must have Wills to nominate Guardians for their children!! Fail to make a Will, and the State picks the Guardian to raise your children.

UNIFORM TRANSFERS TO MINORS ACT (UTMA) – Money and other assets left to children under age 18 will be court-supervised. However, reference this Act in your Will, and funds will be held and distributed by a Custodian until age 21 without court supervision.

PROBATE (ESTATE SETTLEMENTS) – A court-supervised process to determine and follow a decedent’s wishes regarding assets, collecting assets together, paying bills, and providing for the orderly distribution of the balance. While sometimes it is the best solution, it can often be time-consuming and expensive.

DEATH TAXES – Many people are now exempt from death taxes. Kansas has eliminated its Inheritance Tax, and the Federal Estate Tax Exemption after 2025 will be over $6 Million.

LIVING TRUSTS – An agreement between you and a Trustee (often yourself, then a Successor Trustee) that assets will be transferred into Trust, maintained in Trust and distributed in accordance with the Trust terms at death. This arrangement ordinarily avoids the intervention of the probate court. While a Trust may be somewhat expensive to establish, in the appropriate cases, substantial savings of time and money can be realized.

Rev.2023

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