As I mentioned above, this year has been hard. A dear relative has become incapacitated, and I am the successor trustee of their trust and agent under their durable power of attorney. Besides the emotional toil of witnessing my relative's decline and doing everything I can to ensure their comfort, I am seeing the other side of my work. And, I've learned it's not easy! These are just some of the many issues I've been dealing with in the last few months:
My relative's brokerage company didn't like the letter my relative's doctor wrote concerning their incapacity, so I had to (gently) request that the doctor write a second letter and gave the doctor suggested language.
The brokerage company treats my authority as successor trustee of the trust differently from my authority as agent under the power of attorney (as it should), so the information I can see online for the trust account vs. the retirement account is very different. In many cases, I have to call the office to access the IRA, but could have easily handled a similar transaction for the trust on the website.
It took me four months to sort out issues with Social Security, change the mailing address, and confirm my authority as my relative's Designated Payee. I learned that Social Security doesn't respect a California Statutory Form Power of Attorney, and I had to follow their unique procedures to manage the account. Everyone I spoke to in the Campbell office was very nice, but clearly overworked and saddled with outdated computer systems.
I decided to rent out my relative's home to avoid a significant capital gains tax, but that required changing their homeowner's insurance policy to a landlord policy. Thanks to the current fight between the big insurance carriers (State Farm, Allstate, etc.) and the California Insurance Commissioner, it has been incredibly difficult to get a new policy issued. My relative's insurance broker has been helpful in researching policies that will work, but the process is much more complicated than I had ever imagined.
I am trying to do everything by-the-book. The only time I've said I was my relative (instead of myself, as the agent) was when I cancelled their $10/monthly contribution to their public radio station. In each other event, I have identified myself and my authority, and offered to upload, email, or fax a copy of the power of attorney. (You wouldn't believe how helpful a fax machine has been for this work!) I have tried to be pleasant with each customer service agent, but assertive and persistent. If I don't see that an issue was resolved within two weeks, I call back and start again. I have a folder in Google Docs where I keep pertinent documents which I share with other interested parties. I am not sure they want all of it, but I think communication and transparency is key for a successful trustee.
I am hopeful that most of the financial mess will be sorted by the end of the year. But, my work won't be done. I'll still have to invest prudently and handle payments to their assisted living facility. I am also the co-agent of my relative's advance health care directive, which requires ongoing care and maintenance. And, in my spare time, I'm undertaking the daunting task of sorting through their voluminous (and completely disorganized) photos, slides, and 8mm films!
