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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Bank Accounts

If I decide not to re-title my bank account in my trust, is there a way to allow my children access to my bank account without making them co-owners?

Yes, through a power of attorney. Most general powers of attorney, discussed in the FAQ regarding powers of attorney, authorize your attorney-in-fact to manage your bank accounts, either presently or when a doctor certifies that you are incapacitated.

Again, however, we frequently have problems with banks which generally refuse to honor general power of attorney; most banks require that you use the bank’s form power of attorney, which is limited to accounts at the bank and possibly safe deposit boxes located there. The bank’s power of attorney card is signed by you, as the principal, and by the attorney-in-fact.

The bank’s form authorizes your attorney-in-fact to act presently, regardless of whether or not you can act. In other words, there is apparently no such thing as a bank generated  “springing” power of attorney.

Remember that the authority of an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney ends when you die; if the account is too large and does not have payable on death beneficiaries named, probate may be necessary.