what is the relationship between an attorney in fact and the trustee

An easy take-away: Trustees have power over Trust assets both during and after your lifetime; your Attorney-in-Fact has power over your non-trust assets during your lifetime; and your Executor or PR has power over your Probate assets upon your death.

Full Answer

What is the difference between a trustee and an attorney-in-fact?

Your Trustee has exclusive jurisdiction and control over the assets in your trust, your Attorney-in-Fact has jurisdiction, subject to any limiting terms in the Power of Attorney, over everything else. If you have a trust and have funded it with all of your assets, your Attorney-in-Fact is going to thank you for making his/her life relatively easy.

What is an attorney in fact?

An attorney in fact is a person who is authorized to perform business-related transactions on behalf of someone else (the principal). In order to become someone's attorney in fact, a person must have the principal sign a power of attorney document.

Can a trustee or attorney-in-fact be compensated?

Can a Trustee or Attorney-in-Fact Be Compensated? A trustee and an agent under a power of attorney are fiduciaries, meaning they are obligated to act honestly and ethically in the best interests of the person granting the power.

What are the powers of a trustee?

If you have a trust, you have named a trustee to manage, invest, and distribute the assets in your trust. Unlike an Attorney-in-Fact, whose powers are limited to the period of time you are alive, or an Executor, whose powers are limited to a period of time after you die, your Trustee can serve both during your lifetime and after your death.

What is difference between power of attorney and trustee?

A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives someone legal authority to act for you while you are still alive. The Trustee to an Estate is generally the person authorized to manage your estate's assets following your death.

Is power of attorney and attorney in fact the same thing?

The person named in a power of attorney to act on your behalf is commonly referred to as your "agent" or "attorney-in-fact." With a valid power of attorney, your agent can take any action permitted in the document.

What does an attorney in fact do?

An attorney in fact is an agent authorized to act on behalf of another person, but not necessarily authorized to practice law, e.g. a person authorized to act by a power of attorney.

What is the difference between attorney and attorney in fact?

An attorney in fact is an agent who is authorized to act on behalf of another person but isn't necessarily authorized to practice law. An attorney at law is a lawyer who has been legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions before a court of law.

Who can override a power of attorney?

principalA power of attorney (POA) is a legal contract that gives a person (agent) the ability to act on behalf of someone (principal) and make decisions for them. Short answer: The principal who is still of sound mind can always override a power of attorney.

Does power of attorney override executor?

An executor will administer your will when you die — making sure your wishes are carried out; an attorney protects your interests while you're still alive.

Can an attorney-in-fact assign another attorney-in-fact?

To protect against this, your power of attorney will state that a successor attorney-in-fact is not liable for any acts of a prior attorney-in-fact. You can also authorize your attorney-in-fact to appoint someone to serve if all those you named cannot.

What does successor attorney-in-fact mean?

If the attorney in fact dies or becomes incapacitated, the person named successor attorney, in fact, would have to provide the durable power of attorney document which names them as the successor, as well as proof of the death or incapacitation by way of medical records or a death certificate.

What is the difference between Attorney at Law and an attorney?

The term attorney is an abbreviated form of the formal title 'attorney at law'. An attorney is someone who is not only trained and educated in law, but also practices it in court. A basic definition of an attorney is someone who acts as a practitioner in a court of law.

What is difference between executor and trustee?

An executor manages a deceased person's estate to distribute his or her assets according to the will. A trustee, on the other hand, is responsible for administering a trust. A trust is a legal arrangement in which one or more trustees hold the legal title of the property for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

Who is the principal in a power of attorney?

Introduction. The power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a document that enables one person to represent another in private matters, business contracts, or some other matter on another's behalf. The individual who authorizes the action is referred to as the principal.

How do I write an Attorney-in-Fact?

Under or after the signature line, indicate your status as POA by including any of the following identifiers: “as POA,” “as Agent,” “as Attorney-in-Fact” or “as Power of Attorney.”

Why won't my attorney accept a trustee?

As mentioned above, there are numerous reasons why an attorney will likely not accept the position of trustee, such as limits on their ability to be fully compensated as a trustee and their elevated level of obligations. Thus, your attorney will not likely accept being appointed as a trustee.

What is a trustee?

Simply put, a trustee is someone is who has been entrusted with authority to hold property or assets, for specified purposes. A trustee holds property or assets in trust for one person, to be transferred to another. A common example of the creation of a trustee is when a person creates a valid trust and grants authority to a person ...

What does a trustee do in bankruptcy?

The term “trustee” can also refer to a person who holds property for another during a bankruptcy proceeding. Additionally, a board of trustees oversees a group’s finances.

What is a board of trustees?

Additionally, a board of trustees oversees a group’s finances. Many non-profit organizations operate under a board of trustees. Trusts are regularly drafted by attorneys, so at first glance, appointing your attorney as your trustee seems like a convenient and great idea. However, there are a number of ethical risks that may arise ...

What is the duty of loyalty of a trustee?

The duty of loyalty requires that the trustee administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries. Also, the duty of prudence requires that the trustee is held to an objective standard of care in managing the trust property.

What are the duties of a trustee?

Under the law, a trustee has fiduciary duties including a duty of loyalty, a duty of prudence, and subsidiary duties. If a trustee breaches any of these duties, they will be held personally liable.

Can an attorney amend a trust?

Further, an attorney will often prioritize beneficiaries based solely on trust law and their personal liability, rather than do what the trust creator or beneficiaries would do.

What is a trustee under a power of attorney?

A trustee and an agent under a power of attorney are fiduciaries, meaning they are obligated to act honestly and ethically in the best interests of the person granting the power. Acting as someone's trustee or agent (also called an attorney-in-fact) is a great responsibility, and can be a fair amount of work depending on the circumstances.

Do trustees get paid for their work?

For this reason, trustees and agents are entitled to some compensation for their work. If the agent is a professional fiduciary, they usually set forth a fee structure for their work. But often, an agent is a family member, like an adult child.

3 attorney answers

You need to hire an attorney - if you mean the $14,000 annual exclusions not sure what an irrevocable trust is going to do. If you are talking about the 5.340M life time exclusion you should be talking to a sophisticated planner. As to the attorney in fact it depends on the powers granted in the power of attorney...

Charles Adam Shultz

Yes but only IF such a power is granted in the Power of Attorney. Honestly it "depends" on how it has been drafted. Don't assume it. Take your documents & sit down with a Los Angeles area Estate Planning attorney. See 'Find-A-Lawyer' at the top of this web page. Good Luck.

Michael Leo Potter

Yes the same person can hold two jobs in the estate. because this is actually a tax question you have to figure out if their are any traps for the unwary. It would be a problem from a tax standpoint if the AIF and Trustee were the grantors or the beneficary. Additionally it would be a problem if this person was subserviant to the Grantor.

What is an attorney in fact?

Key Takeaways. An attorney-in-fact is someone who is designated to act on behalf of another person, whether in business, financial or personal matters. An attorney-in-fact is designated through the granting of power of attorney, usually by the person who will be represented.

What is a limited power of attorney?

Under a limited power of attorney assignment, the attorney-in-fact can be authorized to conduct certain transactions and make some decisions, but not others. A special power of attorney is the narrowest, limiting the attorney-in-fact's authority to those specified in the document assigning power of attorney. Anyone assigning power of attorney ...

When does a power of attorney end?

A power of attorney ends when a person becomes incapacitated unless the power of attorney is designated as a durable power of attorney. In the latter case, the attorney-in-fact can retains the power of attorney and can make decisions for the principal, including matters of finance and health care.

Can a principal have a power of attorney?

If a principal has very specific needs for an attorney-in-fact, they can designate a special power of attorney. For example, the principal could grant the attorney-in-fact only the right to sign documents related to the pending sale of a specific piece of property if the principal will be unable to do so themselves.

What is a trustee?

A Trustee, by contrast, could also be a person in your life, but it could just as easily be an institution or entity like a Professional Trustee, a law firm, a bank or even an investment advisory company. 2. Scope of authority. Of course it makes sense that different roles will have different scopes of authority.

What is the purpose of a trustee?

A Trustee, on the other hand, only has the authority to manage assets inside a Trust. This means their overall power can be much more limited in scope. There is a specific document, known as a Trust Agreement or a Deed of Trust, that explicitly lays out and defines the powers a Trustee holds. 3. Duration of power.

What is probate in trust?

Probate is the costly and timely process that validates a Will before assets can be distributed to inheritors. Trustees can bypass this whole process, managing Trust assets seamlessly even after the passing of the estate owner.

Why is a trust valid even after the owner dies?

Because a Trust survives the Grantor (meaning a Trust is valid even after the owner passes away), the Trustee’s role also remains in effect even if the Trust owner is no longer alive. One major benefit to setting up a Trust is creating an Estate Plan that can offer asset protection and avoid probate.

What can powers of attorney be used for?

Powers of Attorney can be put into place to make decisions about finances, property, business-related issues or even medical care.

Who owns the assets in a trust?

Who owns the assets? Technically, assets inside a Trust are owned by the Trust itself. They are managed and controlled by the named Trustee, who owns the legal title to said assets. The Trustee will also act on behalf, and in the best interest of, the Trust’s beneficiaries.

Who is responsible for the assets inside a trust?

A Trustee is the legal owner who’s responsible for assets inside of a Trust. Trustees not only manage the assets in the Trust, they’re also obligated to distribute those assets per the terms outlined and defined by the Trust.