Plan To Be 100

In an earlier post I reported on changes to MCL 700.5501 brought about by Public Act 141 of 2012.  In this post I would like to point out some other intriguing aspects of this law.  A link to the law may be found at in that earlier post of June 12, 2012.

Planners need to be mindful of how these new developments impact planning options by a principal who later becomes incompetent, and the extent to which the documents created may limit the planning tools available to the agent, and the exposure of the agent to liability.

First, and most importantly, section 3(d) provides:

“The attorney-in-fact shall not make a gift of all or any part of the principal’s assets, unless provided for in the durable power of attorney or by judicial order.”

This section addresses one of most difficult issues of FPOA drafting, whether, and to what extent, to authorize an agent to make gifts.  Heretofore the law on this issue was vague. MCL 700.2114 can be extrapolated to mean that an agent may not gift to themselves without express authority, but this new law goes much further, and becomes much more of an obstacle to things like Medicaid planning by an agent.

Commonly, form FPOAs used by too many practitioners will include no expression on gifting, or will include a provision that limits gifting the federal annual exclusion amount.  These documents are likely generated without much discussion or consideration of the important role gifting plays in estate planning, VA benefits planning and Medicaid eligibility planning.  For planners interested in an FPOA that authorizes broad gifting powers, a form of such a document I use is available on the ICLE website forms bank, and as an exhibit in my ICLE book on Medicaid Planning

Where gifting is allowed, it is often best to limit that authority to gifts made in a manner consistent with the principal’s existing estate plan.

That’s not to say that gifting is always a good thing.  For many people, and for many reasons, gifting is not appropriate, and such documents should either remain silent on the issue or expressly preclude gifting by an agent.

Notably, the new law does not address the second leg of this issue, whether an agent can modify a revocable trust created by an incompetent settlor.  One would presume however, that Michigan law would not sanction such actions unless expressly authorized by the document.  Again, see my ICLE form for suggested language.

Another important issue not addressed expressly in the new law is the question: Are transfers from accounts jointly owned between the principal and agent, gifts by the agent?  Presumably if the joint ownership is created by a competent principal, the agent/co-owner’s removal of funds from such an account would not be a violation of the statute because it would not be an act of the agent in their fiduciary capacity.  That is not to say that such action, if taken, and where the agent did not contribute to the account, and/or where the joint ownership was established for convenience purposes, would not be actionable.

Section 2(e of the new law does say however that:

“Unless provided in the durable power of attorney or by judicial order, the attorney-in-fact, while acting as attorney-in-fact, shall not create an account or other asset in joint tenancy between the principal and the attorney-in-fact.”

Also important is section 2(g) of the new law, it provides:

“In the durable power of attorney, the principal may exonerate the attorney-in-fact of any liability to the principal for breach of fiduciary duty except for actions committed by the attorney-in-fact in bad faith or with reckless indifference.”

This section authorizes exculpation of the agent, but with a “bad faith” floor.  The Medicaid planning power of attorney included in my ICLE materials referenced above, provides such exculpation provisions, which planners may want to consider.