Newsletters

When to Revoke a Power of Attorney for Finances

If you execute a power of attorney for finances document, you can revoke or cancel it at any time as long as you are mentally competent to do so. This means that you must understand the consequences of signing the revocation. You probably will not encounter any problems if you revoke a power of attorney that has not been given effect. However, a court proceeding may be necessary if you revoke a springing power of attorney that has been given effect (i.e., doctors have declared you to be incapacitated) and your attorney-in-fact refuses to accept that the revocation is valid.

Gift Requirements

This article discusses the legal requirements for an ordinary gift: donor competence, donor intent, donor delivery, donee acceptance, and appropriate documentation, if necessary.

Revoking a Will, Methods

As a general rule, a will can be changed or cancelled at any time before the testator's death. A will may be revoked (i.e., recalled or cancelled). This article discusses methods for revoking a will.

Descent and Distribution, Generally

Traditionally, a state statute of descent and distribution provides the order of preference for disposal of an intestate's net estate. As a general rule, the person or persons with the highest rank in the order of preference who survive the intestate take all of the intestate's net estate.

Inheritance in Unusual Circumstances

State statutes of descent and distribution are usually supplemented by other statutes or court rulings governing inheritance in unusual circumstances. This article discusses some of those unusual circumstances.