power of attorney

July 29, 2020

LEGAL UPDATE: Kentucky Changes Power of Attorney Law Effective July 2020

by English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP

Nathan Vinson

By Nathan Vinson

Right at two years to the date, Kentucky has again changed its power of attorney law by adopting parts of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act that it did not adopt as part of the changes that went into effect on July 14, 2018. The new law went into effect on July 15, 2020, and applies to a power of attorney created before, on, or after July 15. However, acts done before July 15, 2020 are not affected by the new law.

The biggest change created by the 2018 law was the requirement that the power of attorney be witnessed by two disinterested persons, though a power of attorney validly executed before that law went into effect remained valid. The new law brings about three major changes – one of them being no more witnesses required! Just two years after that requirement came into effect, it is again changed to take us back to prior law. However, practitioners may decide it is best practice to continue to require two witnesses. Further, some states require that the power of attorney have two witnesses, especially when used to transfer real estate. On the flipside, the new law makes executing a power of attorney in urgent situations much easier.

April 8, 2015

Annulment versus divorce matters at tax time

by English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP

In our last post, we discussed how divorce affects an estate plan. A thorough review of all estate documents is critical post-divorce to ensure you’ve covered every conceivable scenario and changed every document necessary. Allowing an attorney to do that review for you is always in your best interest, as attorneys have a keen eye for details and wording that may escape even a close reader who does not have legal training.

Taking this matter one step backwards, though, we’re examining annulment versus divorce in this post. While both lead to the same conclusion – you’re no longer married – these two scenarios have very different consequences when it comes time to pay taxes.

Both parties may file as married at tax time if they were still legally married at the end of the calendar year. Options include filing a joint tax return, as many married couples do, or checking the married but filing separately box.

March 26, 2015

Six Things to Do When You Have a Child

by English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP

Having a child can be exciting (and stressful). Probably the last thing you might think to do when having a child is to update an estate plan, but it’s absolutely necessary. Here are 6 things to consider when you have a child.