travelfar

Hello
Help please !
I am a UK citizen. I worked in USA 10 years (2 separate assignments) with L-1 visas. I have never had a green card or US citizenship. As a result of working in US I have some US financial assets. I have a UK Power of Attorney in place which names my spouse. The POA comes into effect in the event of my incapacity. My questions are:
a. Do I need a US PoA to cover my US assets ?
b. Can I name my spouse in this document ? I have read that I need to name a US-person and my spouse is not a US person.
c. If I need a US PoA should it be drafted/set up in the state where my assets are located or does it not matter?
I am assuming my UK Will covers US assets in the event of my death. Please correct me if I am wrong !
Many thanks for any help as I have been going around in circles over this for the past few weeks !
Have a great day.

Pulaski

I am not an expert on PoAs, but I do know that the wording needs to be acceptable in the jurisdiction that the PoA authority is going to be exercised, so it is likely that a "US PoA" will be necessary for assets located in the US, or at very least it will be a lot easier to get the PoA accepted.

The matter of wills is debated often on BE, in different forums for countries around the world, and those proffering advice fall into two camps - "you need a will for each country" and "one will will suffice". I am very firmly in the latter camp - firstly because wills are recognised internationally, and secondly, because you can only have one "last will and testament" and having multiple will documents floating around can lead to confusion, especially if someone holding the last-dated will takes it to another country where you left assets and exercises their legal right as holder of your "last will and testament", because "the other will" was dated earlier.

travelfar

Thanks for your reply. Although you say you are not an expert, this sounds very sensible advice. I suppose my next question is how do I find a good trustworthy US attorney who won't change a fortune ?

Glasgow Girl

Find an attorney who specializes in trust planning. POAs and living wills are all part of that and you would likely get some benefit from creating a trust as well. Trusts are not just for the mega rich, lots of ordinary people have them as well. We were charged about $2,500 for a comprehensive Pour Over trust with lots of personal requirements, a second trust for a family member, POA and living will for both of us. We are in Missouri. They may charge more in the more expensive states but worth the cost for piece of mind. Shop around. Costs vary a lot, the ones that advertise heavily will generally be the most expensive but there are plenty of good local estate attorneys at a reasonable cost.

durham_lad

We are actually in the process of writing and having our PoAs registered in England. They are not valid for Scotland so I'm sure they will not be valid for any States in the USA. A financial PoA is a very powerful document which, when presented to a bank or other financial institution, gives the bearer full authority over the accounts. I can't imagine that a bank in, say Texas, is going to be able to validate that a PoA registered in England is a valid document and not a forgery.

Pulaski

If all you want is a PoA then you will probably find what you're looking for in the "Wills and Trusts" sections of the legal document provider legalzoom.com

S Folinsky

I would advise finding a competent attorney. It should be one who knows the differences between the UK and the individual states.

I am in no way expert in this area but I have already noted some apparent mistakes in otherwise excellent posts.

When engaging in a consultation, it is a good idea to have a list of the actual assets.

RICH

Hi
I am also not an expert. As a first step I would ask the Financial Institution/s that hold your US assets what they would require, and even send them a copy of the POA you already have, to see if it acceptable to them. That should not cost anything.

Glasgow Girl

Great recommendation.

RICH

I hope you meant to quote my post t#8

travelfar

Thanks, excellent suggestion.

Glasgow Girl

Yes!

RICH

I have professional experience as a person who reviews documents for a specific department of a Financial Institution.. I have no Legal training. . I can say that POA and Trust docs that I see are typically "boiler plate" and my department focuses on the fill in the blanks parts. Typically names and dates do not exactly match related docs. This does not invalidate them but causes additional evidence to be required.

I do not recall it being necessary for a POA to be executed where the assets are held., or the beneficiary needing to be a US person.
eta
Your FI quite probably has a boiler plate template you can fill in to meet the relevant requirements!

vikingsail

To the original poster the following UK website may be of help to you regarding power of attorney:

https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

The advantage of a UK government backed and registered power of attorney is there is unlikely to be a question as to its validity. This POA service is extremely easy to do yourself and substantially cheaper than a solicitor etc.

Also, there are contact details on the website I sent so they may be able to assist with your specfic scenario.

For what its worth I would be hesistant to execute a power of attorney in the US location as I am sure you will find all manner of attorneys willing to assist and of course potentially lighten your wallet. As to the durability and validity of said POA's well........

travelfar

Many thanks for all the comments and links. It is much appreciated.