Do spouses need a power of attorney for each other?

Do spouses need a power of attorney for each other?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Chrissy, here is a text and it's coming from a wife. She says that she and her husband they own everything together like most married couples do. She wants to know, does she still need a power of attorney from her husband granting power of attorney to her?

Attorney Chris Merrill: Great question. The answer is, yes, you do even married couples that own most things jointly still need a financial power of attorney for each other. Why? Because oftentimes you do have IRAs, which must be in your name only, you may have pensions or other types of retirement accounts and you have social security. All of those things are things that must be in your individual name and the only way that your spouse will be able to even have a conversation with any one of those organizations would be to have a Florida legally valid power of attorney so that you can talk to them on your spouse's behalf.

I would say, Tom, that probably that's one of the most common questions and something that most married couples are the most surprised about when they hear us say, "Yes, you must have a financial power of attorney for each other."

Attorney Tom Olsen: As soon as we tell them why, the reasons you just gave, they go, "Oh, I get it". Folks remember that when we do a power of attorney for you, you actually have choice one, choice two, choice three, so your spouse is naturally choice one, but we need a choice two and three backups in case your spouse is not available to you.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Exactly.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Let's make it real clear to people. If the husband has his own IRA and he's named his wife as a beneficiary, standard procedure. If the husband becomes incompetent, develops Alzheimer's, can't manage that IRA just because a wife is a beneficiary does not mean, in fact, she cannot manage that for him without his financial power of attorney.

Attorney Chris Merrill: Exactly. It's really important because of the fact that people mistaken and often mistake that just because somebody is named as a beneficiary on any one of their financial accounts, that it gives that person permission to speak to that financial institution if they were alive and incapacitated, and that is false.