Matthew Curtiss, Esq

The Powerful Power of Attorney

One of the most useful tools in the Estate Planning arsenal is the Power of Attorney.  not an Estate Planning tool per se, but its one of the documents that seem to best be done at the time the Will, Living Trust, and Health Care Power of Appointments are done.

A POA is basically a document which allows the agent to act on the principal's behalf as if they were the principal.  In other words, the person being named in the document steps into the shoes of the person "granting" the power to do whatever that person could do.  The POAs we use are "durable" in that the effectiveness survives the principal's subsequent disability or incapacity.

We frequently suggest POAs between spouses, though I have seen them between siblings of advanced ages.

The Wills Prof (I have to shorten it since I seem to be linking to him so often) blawged an article on the pitfalls of the POA (The Perilous World of POA Agents, 96 Ill. B.J. 398 (2008)).  In it, the author, Helen W. Gunnarsson, explains how even well meaning agents can run afoul of statutory requirements and their fiduciary duties.

The problems are often obvious:  agents do not know in advance the scope of what may be required of them; they don't know that their duties may extend for years and even decades; and that other family members may scrutinize their every move.

As much as I like the POA, I tend to suggest them only in dire circumstances.  For one, the principal needs to have the capacity to understand the principal/agent relationship and the powers that they will be giving up.  Spouses tend to understand this best.  I make sure to explain to the principal that the agent will be able to do everything (absent health care decisions) that they could do.

Fishing Friday- 8.21.08

Ahh, an opportunity to talk about fishing.  Not that I've had the time, of course.  But I did get to wet a line in the Mystic River last night while attending a picnic.  No bites, but there are shad in the river, or so I'm told.

For some reason, this time of year, being too early for the fall striper run, I'm drawn back to trout fishing.  I love using terrestrial flies on hot summer nights.  Being the busy professional and parent that I am, my head only has so much room for dry fly patterns and hatch times.  Throwing ants and grasshoppers to hungry trout is just fine by me.

Does poor attorney marketing lead to high rates of intestacy?

I'm slowly emerging from boxes, furniture, and other items from the office move.  Slowly, my routine will get back to normal, I promise.

A few weeks back the Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog blawged about a recent article concerning lawyer marketing .  No, it wasn't about joining Rotary or effective techniques in utilizing the Yellow Pages, but about whether attorneys are effectively marketing services for wills.  The reason?  High rates of intestacy.

Michael McCunney and Alyssa A. DiRusso (Samford University - Cumberland School of Law) posted an SSRN article which discusses the issue.  The authors ponder whether attorneys "do not take full advantage of the range of permissible marketing strategies" under the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility.

I'm glad I waited to blog about this topic as the Will Prof posted an article just a few days ago citing the fact that 75% of British citizens do not have a will.

Is it marketing or something else?  Are the high intestacy rates because no will was available to probate or were they holographic wills or otherwise not not compliant with the statutory requirements of that state?  I'd like to read the article to see if those issues are addressed.

I personally think its a mindset issue. Whether its not going to the doctor or preparing for our eventual demise, we naturally look to put these decisions off until absolutely necessary.  Of course, I believe that people who have children need a will. 

But I guess the issue is how to effectively communicate that to prospective clients.

A new day, a new firm.

I've alluded to it in past posts, but today is the first day at my new firm-  Block, Janney, & Pascal, LLC.  We have two offices; one in Norwich and a new office in Mystic; where I will be located.  We will provide counsel in matters concerning commercial and residential real estate; commercial litigation, estate planning, probate administration, elder law and corporate law .  It is an exciting new time, but bittersweet as it sees the realization of the passing of a venerable Southeastern Connecticut law firm- O'Brien, Shafner, Stuart, Kelly & Morris, P.C. after 40 plus years in business.

Watch here for new developments: http://www.bjplawyers.com/

Simsbury judge named probate court administrator

From this morning's papers:

Simsbury Probate Judge Paul Knierim was appointed Thursday to serve as probate court administrator, replacing Judge James Lawlor, who has worked in the probate system for more than 30 years.

The appointment will be effective Oct. 1, the date Lawlor retires. Knierim served as probate judge of Simsbury since 1999.

Judge Knierem comes by way of Drew, Mersereau & Knierim and Cummings and Lockwood and has been a probate judge in Simsbury since 1999.  He was also a state representative from 1991 to 1997.

Let the Craziness Begin

I will be blogging more about this in days to come, but so much is going on at my office that I will not likely be able to post daily entries over the next week or so.

If you need your blogging fix, try my links.

Courthouse Confessions

The Volokh Conspiracy has a great posting on a blog based out of Manhattan Criminal Court called Courthouse Confessions. 

Very interesting reading

The Other Side of Pet Trusts

I've blogged previously on Pet Trusts in Connecticut and the theory of pets as private property.  My pet postings invariably bring some of the most traffic..understandably so, since its such a personal and emotional topic.

Not so for some people.  The Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog pointed me towards an article in the Financial Times which treats such decisions as folly.  The author equates such trusts with Caligula naming his horse as consul.

I tend to agree that there are sensible and rational limits on what you can and should be able to pass onto your pets, but such a choice is not wasteful.

Of course, the Financial Times author is British, so I would have to wonder what he would think if the Queen left a honorarium for her corgis.

Ubuntu: Ready for the Law Office

Lots has already been written on Ubuntu, the free open-source operating system that is rising in popularity.  I won't go too in depth about the OS itself as there are tons of resources already out there.

I would like to continue the meme, so to speak, of Ubuntu in the law office.  In the last year or so, Law.com ran an article on "Lawbuntu" and whether Ubuntu was ready for the law office.  I can't link the original story as it requires a subscription, but essentially, it asked the question, and gave compelling answers why it was ready.

The subject then got much play over at Ubuntu Forums (original article posted here as well).  Some didn't like that someone wanted another "derivative" of Ubuntu (much like Edubuntu, Kubuntu, Ubuntu CE, etc), but others liked the fact that efforts were being made towards getting Ubuntu ready for law applications.

Myself, I already used Ubuntu at home.  I love its speed, efficiency with computing resources, and the abundance of free applications readymade by the Ubuntu/linux community.  I also really like OpenOffice , which if you're in the market for a new productivity suite, you'd be insane not to give it a try.

I have started to rethink the "Lawbuntu" concept again as I will be involved in a new office setting soon.  While we won't be in the position to adopt Ubuntu as our office's OS of choice, I have come to realize that the ability to run Ubuntu is closer than most think, and my reasons are below: 

1) Web Based Apps:  Time and billing software invariably seems to be Windows-centric.  Quickbooks runs on Linux servers, but not as a desktop app.  Quickbooks TimeTracker, at the user level, is web-based.  Even with one windows accounting machine, the Ubuntu lawyer could still log time on files and work within the Windows office.   

2) Linux Apps are better if not equal:  OpenOffice, Scribus, Evolution, Thunderbird, Firefox.  All available on Ubuntu.  All just as good as the Windows apps they replace

3) Stability:  Lawyers love stability.  Ubuntu, in its current LTS (long term support- 3 years) format, can handle wifi, networking, video and other things that incarnations in the past would struggle with. 

Again, this is just a continuation on a meme.  I know that Ubuntu has some rough edges to work out.  I also know that lawyers as a group are creatures of habit and that adoption of a totally new system would be a tough sell.  But as the Ubuntu platform matures, I 'm sure that lawyers will begin to look to it as a viable option in the office.

Fishing Friday: 8.1.08

Last night, the Mystic River was full of little baitfish.  I mean, really full. 

I won't likely have any time this weekend to cast a line; but at least for everyone else out there, there are possibilities.  The Day reports Hickory Shad in the Mystic River, which may explain why the baits were jumping last night as well.  Sounds like stripers are inhabiting the Fisher's Island reefs as well with people catching them on Slug-Gos after dark.

And if you finished your Connecticut Bar Exam yesterday, by all means, pack a cooler and enjoy a nice relaxing day on the water...you deserve it!