Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine March 2026

HVACR NewsMagazine March 2026

Business & Marketing Tips

Power of Attorney for Health Care

Types of Trustees. • Individual • Bank (corporate). • Combination of both.

Benefits • Avoids the need for a court appointed guardian to make health care decisions • Minimizes family disagreements. • Ensures that the person(s) you choose will make the health care decision. • Minimizes family disagreements • Ensures that the person(s) you choose will make the health care decisions. Problems with not having an HPOA • Guardian necessary to make health care decisions • Judicial involvement due to family disagreements may delay medical treatment and lead to more problems in the family Benefits • Avoids Court intervention with respect to end of life decisions. • Prevents use of assets on undesired life sustaining treatments. • Prevents burdening family members with end of life decisions. • Problems with not having a Living Will • Judicial intervention may be required to resolve disputes regarding end of life decisions. • May be difficult for family members to make end of life decisions. The Trustee Every trust must have a Trustee, every Probate Estate must have a Personal Representative and every Power of Attorney must designate and Agent. • Ensures the individual gets to select who will serve. • Successor fiduciaries advisable to avoid vacancy. Living Will

Trustee Responsibilities

Manage trust assets • A Trustee generally may invest trust assets, sell trust assets, vote membership interest/stock held by the trust, etc.

• File all required tax returns. Carry out the terms of the trust

• For example: divide the property into separate trust funds for tax planning purposes, distribute trust assets to the beneficiaries at the appropriate times. Powers and duties of Trustee • The law affords Trustee certain powers to manage the trust assets and cary out the trust terms. • A Trustee must exercise the powers and fulfill the terms of the trust in a manner that is consistent with the fiduciary duties imosed by law on the Trustee. • Duty to administer the trust in good faith. • Duty to administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries. • Duty of impartiality • Duty to inform and report. • In selecting a Trustee, consider the following: o How will selection of one family member as Trustee impact other family members? o Is the selected Trustee qualified to fulfill his/her obligations? o If selecting more than one, can they get along? While quite long, this information is not all inclusive. We all should contact an Estate Planning Attorney for advise and document preparation. Good luck in your planning.