When Powers of Attorney Are Not Effective. We recommend that our clients have a General Durable Power of Attorney, naming an agent of their choice to manage their finances and other transactions if they become disabled or incompetent. Clients occasionally tell us, however, that their power of attorney was ineffective to access funds in an account or to sell or transfer real estate or other assets. The reason for this is simple: Your power of attorney only can be used for your personal assets (i.e., assets titled in your name, alone), and will not be effective for assets titled in the name of your Living Trust.

How can your trust assets be managed for you if you become incompetent? Your Successor Trustee (named in your trust) simply executes an Affidavit of Incapacitation acknowledging your incompetence, attaches a letter from your doctor verifying your incapacitation, and presents the Affidavit to each institution where you keep trust assets. Your Successor Trustee, then, can replace your name with his on your trust assets, becoming your trustee, and can manage your trust assets for you without a court hearing or court supervision. If you either don't have a General Durable Power of Attorney, or need it updated, please contact us at (801) 262-8889 or email us at emarel@comcast.net.

Sick of Credit Offers? Visit https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t to "opt out" of credit card and other credit solicitations. For more information, visit the Federal Trade Commission's web site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre17.shtm.

Historical Tax Returns. Would you like to see what income tax forms (and tax rates) looked like over the years? Go to: http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/1040TaxForms?OpenDocument and click on any year. In particular, examine the (low) tax rates on the 1913 return (and weep!).

Identity Theft Protection Using a "Security Freeze." You can protect yourself against a crook using your stolen personal information, like your Social Security number, to open new accounts in your name. Simply implement a “security freeze,” which “freezes” or locks access to your credit file against anyone trying to open up a new account or to get new credit in your name.

When a security freeze is in place at all three major credit bureaus, an identity thief cannot open a new account because the potential creditor or seller of services will not be able to check your credit file. When you want to apply for credit, you can lift the freeze temporarily using a PIN so legitimate applications for credit or services can be processed. For more information about Utah’s Credit Freeze Law, and how to “freeze” or “unfreeze” your credit information, see: http://www.consumersunion.org/pdf/security/securityUT.pdf

Disinherited by Ademption. I recently met with a woman and her two brothers to settle their mother's estate. In her trust, the mother had provided for a duplex to be given to her daughter, in addition to an equal share of the estate. The mother, however, had sold the duplex before she died.

The daughter asked, "Don't I get an additional share of the estate to compensate me for the loss of the duplex?" Her brothers were adamant: "No," replied one brother. "If Mother wanted you to receive a replacement asset she would have asked Mr. Loveridge to amend her trust to give you a larger portion." Legally, the property was considered adeemed, and the daughter lost her "bonus" duplex. The point? If you dispose of an asset intended for a specific beneficiary, be sure to consider whether to give that beneficiary another asset or a larger share to replace it.

Stop Unwanted Solicitations. Utah provides a free service for Utah residents to protect their e-mail and other electronic addresses from solicitations for certain adult-oriented products and services. Like the Nation Do Not Call List, once a resident registers an address, senders of messages that advertise adult-oriented products or services are required to remove registered addresses from their mailing lists. You can read more about the Utah's do-not-contact list, as well as register online by visiting: http://donotcontact.utah.gov.