John Lewis’ Long Goodbye: The Final Journey

 

Like many Americans, I’ve been profoundly moved by John Lewis’ long goodbye. He represented his community in Congress for 33 years and never ceased his pursuit of equality. He believed that ordinary people with extraordinary vision “can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble.”

His story is a retrospective of the civil rights movement

You can’t really tell Lewis’ story without its broader context–the brave men and women of the civil rights movement who fought and died for the right to ride busses or to sit down and eat at lunch counters. There was Dr. King, of course, but there were others. Ambassador Andrew Young, Hosea Williams, Reverend C.T. Vivian, Stokely Carmichael, Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson—there was a common brotherhood and always a strong faith that united them.

Lewis was 15 when he heard Martin Luther King Jr., and it changed the course of his life

Lewis was inspired by Dr. King’s talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence, that each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. In 1960, the lunch counter sit-ins began; they were fighting for the right to sit down and order an inexpensive meal. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), led by Stokely Carmichael, encouraged students to get involved in the civil rights movement. The Freedom Summer of 1964 was a crusade to register Black voters in Mississippi. Lewis was arrested 45 times during more than half a century fighting for civil rights. He was beaten unconscious in 1965 on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he and 600 peaceful protesters marched toward the batons of Alabama State Troopers.

Education became an important stepping stone

The son of sharecroppers, Lewis knew that there was more to life than picking other people’s cotton. He understood the importance of education, and received a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Fisk University, and he is a graduate of the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. He has been awarded more than 50 honorary degrees from prestigious colleges and universities throughout the United States, including Harvard. In 2010 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama.

At his funeral, three former Presidents and the Speaker of the House eloquently shared personal, emotional experiences of working with Lewis. President Clinton believed that Lewis had survived so many close calls “because he was here on a mission that was bigger than personal ambition.”

A capacity for great courage

John Lewis would have been delighted that a former president, a Black man, had delivered a eulogy that received a standing ovation. “He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity for great courage,” Obama said, “that in all of us there is a longing to do what’s right, that in all of us there is a willingness to love all people, and to extend to them their God-given rights to dignity and respect.”

Now it is your turn to let freedom ring

After reading John Lewis final letter, it may be that we look back on Lewis’ lifelong activism as a bridge between the civil rights movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s and the global consciousness-raising that is today’s Black Lives Matter movement. “That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.”

COVID has created a new urgency about creating a Living Trust

As the COVID crisis drags on, more clients are scheduling appointments to create or update their Living Trusts. Our Trust package includes a Pour Over Will, and for those families with children under 18, it means that they can name a Guardianrather than having the court appoint one for you. Creating a Trust helps provide some peace of mind during these uncertain times. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents.

Our Trust package includes a Will, Power of Attorney, an Advance Healthcare Directive and Incapacity Planning. At California Document Preparers, for most of our services, we charge one flat fee. We’re helpful, compassionate and affordable.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

The Slippery Slope of Multiparty Bank Accounts

Mary had just turned 79 and was recovering from a heart attack and open-heart surgery—a major health event that had made her rethink her life. While Mary still lived alone in the family home, she got a lot of help from her adult children, who lived nearby. Her daughter Alice paid her bills, did her grocery shopping and took her to appointments. Mary decided to add Alice’s name to her checking account. It gave her peace of mind to know that if she became ill or incapacitated and could no longer sign checks, Alice would be able to seamlessly step in to pay bills and manage her affairs.

Alice’s name on her account gives her access to all of Mary’s money

Mary’s assets include her home and a checking account with a significant amount of money. By adding Alice’s name to this account, Mary was giving Alice access to virtually all of her money. Mary was grateful for Alice’s help, but she was also close to her son, Bill, whom she counted on for help with her yard and household repairs. Did Mary realize that this wasn’t just a convenient solution: she was giving all of her money to Alice, exclusive of Bill.

Mary’s son Bill: Concerned that all of the money will go to Alice

Not surprisingly, Mary’s son Bill’s reaction was less than enthusiastic. “Giving anyone access to all of your money, unchecked, sounds unwise. What happens when you die? Will Alice get all the money left in your account? Her name is on the account, and everything will default to her.”

Mary reassured Bill that Alice would share whatever was left in the account with him, that access to her account was only for the purpose of taking care of Mary’s expenses. The reality? She had no way of knowing if Alice would share the remaining account balance with her brother. Bill suggested creating two accounts, one for household expenses and the other for savings, giving Alice access only to the smaller checking account, but Mary liked the simplicity of keeping all of the money in one account.

A mother, a daughter and two bank accounts help jointly

In another case, two bank accounts were held jointly by a mother and daughter, and the decedent’s son disputed their ownership. At the time of the mother’s death, the accounts held nearly $500,000. The daughter saw the mother five-six times a week and was responsible for scheduling and overseeing her mother’s medical care, hospital transportation and other matters. The mother opened the joint accounts so it would be easier for her daughter to help. The daughter testified in a lower court that her mother asked her to meet at a bank to open the accounts and that she signed a signature card that gave her complete access to both accounts. The daughter testified that her mother informed her that the money in the accounts was for her use.

Funds belonged to daughter by Right of Survivorship

The son claimed the funds that remained in those accounts after the decedent’s death were intended to pass to several Trusts established by his parents during their lifetime. However, the court could find no evidence of such intent and ruled that the funds belonged to the daughter by Right of Survivorship.

Right of Survivorship: A joint account passes to the surviving account owner

• According to the California Court of Appeal, unless there is clear and conclusive evidence to the contrary, ownership of a joint bank account passes—as a matter of law–to the surviving account owner by Right of Survivorship.
• In both of these case studies, the money defaults to the daughters by Right of Survivorship. Regardless of intent, giving their daughters access to their accounts means that when these women die, their daughters will inherit all of the cash in these accounts.

Joint bank accounts are often used when planning for incapacity

In both of these cases, the families established joint checking accounts to help care for a parent. They provide easy access to money for incidental expenses, healthcare payments and emergencies. But as our case studies demonstrate, when there are other family members and potential inheritances involved, there is room for conflict.

Multiparty accounts may seem like a good solution for incapacity planning, but there are better solutions:

• Create a smaller joint account linked to a larger account in the name of the Trust. This provides the necessary liquidity, but since it is linked to the Trust account, there is no right of survivorship.
• Open an account in the name of the Trust, with both parties listed as co-trustees. This ensures that upon the parent’s death, the funds remain in the Trust.
• Establish a Payable Upon Death (POD) account. The account owners—in our cases, both mothers–designate who should receive any money that remains in the account upon their deaths.
• Insert “in trust for” to the account title. This would clearly indicate the purpose of the account and the intended beneficiaries.

Contact California Document Preparersat one of our three Bay Area offices today to create a Living Trust. A Trust is a much better way to plan for incapacity of your loved ones. Our dedicated team is helpful, compassionate and affordable.

Power of Attorney to Curtail Dad’s Spending

We’ve all read disturbing stories about elder abuse, and it may be these stories that contribute to a reluctance by many seniors to create a Power of Attorney. The Agent you name as your Power of Attorney will be responsible for determining where and how you live out your life. It should be someone with integrity, someone you trust to make good decisions about your healthcare and finances. The following story an example of how one daughter’s getting Power of Attorney was absolutely in the best interests of her father.

Meet Christine and her father, Dick

Christine and her husband, Bill, weary of long, rainy Seattle winters, retired in sunny Florida. Within two years, Christine’s parents, in their early 80s, moved to a nearby community. A pragmatic RN, Christine knew that she had just become her parents’ caretaker. She also knew she would get no help from her only sibling, a sister who lived in Chicago and hated Florida.

Within five years of their move, Christine’s mother died. Her father, Dick, stayed in their home, but his health was declining. He wasn’t taking his medications or eating properly, and the house was more than he could manage. Christine helped him sell his home and move into a very nice retirement community where he had his own unit, was surrounded by friendly people with numerous activities to keep him busy. Dick, however, remained in his unit, didn’t socialize or participate in any events and became increasingly isolated.

He began buying new cars, including a sexy convertible

Dick became obsessed with buying cars. Once he drove the car home, he’d find a reason to sell it. It was too big, too small, too expensive, guzzled too much gas, etc. Within a single year, he would easily have three-four car transactions, always with a different dealer. The irony was that he drove to WalMart once/week; Dick had no need for a car. He also began investing heavily in coupon sweepstakes, convinced that Publisher’s Clearinghouse was going to make him a millionaire.

The problem: Her father was running out of money

Between the car and the coupon fetishes, Dick was depleting his resources. Christine wanted to get a Power of Attorney to control her father’s spending, but he refused. It took Dick’s totaling his latest car, a sexy convertible, and ending up in the hospital, for him to finally relent.

As her father’s Power of Attorney, Christine was able to manage her father’s life

Christine:

• Paid his bills, giving her father a weekly allowance and putting an end to his car purchases and restricting the number of sweepstakes he could enter.
• Arranged for a healthcare aide to visit three times/week to monitor his health and make sure he was taking his medications.
• Helped Dick update his Living Trust and Advanced Healthcare Directive while he was still mentally competent.

Power of Attorney makes decisions in the best interests of the Principal

The Agent under a Power of Attorney has a fiduciary obligation to make decisions that are in the best interests of the Principal. In most cases, the Agent is an adult child who has been named by a parent, but a Power of Attorney can be a trusted friend, financial adviser or a professional fiduciary. In this case, Christine was acting in the best interests of her father. Becoming legally empowered to manage his money meant that Dick would not have to move in with her and Bill. Call it enlightened self-interest, but Bill and Dick hated each other, so avoiding this situation was clearly in everyone’s best interest.

Powers of Attorney all terminate on death or incapacity

• The Agent can engage in legal business on behalf of the Principal until that person dies or is mentally incompetent to act on his/her own behalf. Once either of those events happens, the power of attorney is no longer valid.
• A Durable Power of Attorney can survive mental incapacity, but not death. A durable power of attorney allows the agent to continue to act on the Principal’s behalf even if the Principal is mentally incompetent.

Creating a Power of Attorney is part of our Living Trust package

We encourage everyone to think carefully about whom they appoint as their Agent. Being a Power of Attorney can become time-consuming, and it may require dealing with financial accounts, so your Power of Attorney should be comfortable managing financials and dealing with attorneys, accountants and government agencies such as social security. If you need to create or update your Trust, contact California Document Preparers at one of our three Bay Area offices today to schedule an appointment. Our dedicated team is helpful, compassionate and affordable.