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Dad died almost a year ago, and it sounds like this decision needs to be made this week. Dad’s instructions were to just move the annuity, which is with a life insurance company through their credit union, into mom’s name and let it roll. I am in the process of setting up a trust for mom, and as I have been reading about annuities it seems that not only do most people not like them as investments, but that they feel they are rip-offs.



I am am not financially savvy, and through a series of difficult circumstances I am getting handed the financial side of the estate issues to deal with on my own.



I have a good elder care attorney. He is leading me through the trust process with mom, who is heading into dementia. Mom recently had brain surgery which has not helped her cognitive abilities as we had hoped it would. I had planned on getting an accountant after the trust was in place. I hadn’t ever considered doing anything other than what dad had instructed with the annuity.



My parents’ finances were/are very simple. A small house fully paid for, dad had an annuity, mom has an annuity, a CD, two bank accounts. Not a lot of money, but enough.



The one-year date on dad’s death is this Saturday. I know this is late in the game, but is it worth doing a big push to figure out something different to do with the annuity?



My my brother and I share durable POA. Thanks!

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As my Dad's Rep under his will and then Mom's DPOA, I mad the decision to simply cash out all investments and add it to the pool of money available for Mom's care. I'm no whizz financially and chose the simple path.
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Do not have yourself put on the deed of the home. When the home is sold taxes will have to be payed on the value of the home the day you were put on the deed. My husband I put our home in a trust and the lawyer filed the paperwork for us.

my Dad passed away a little over a year ago. He had two annuities and my Mom was the beneficiary. Has anyone talked to the company who the beneficiary is? Assuming it is your Mom.

your Moms financial advisor will be able to guide you as to what is in Moms best course is regarding the annuities. It will depend on whether their is a penalty if it is cashed in etc.

I got a lawyer who specializes in estate planning so we could make sure everything was in place for my Mothers estate.
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WearyJanie: I am very sorry for the loss of your father and send condolences. These are questions for your attorney. Perhaps your parents had a financial advisor.
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Be very careful about getting your name on the house now because you may be responsible for taxes and other house related expenses. Also, I believe you would lose the step-up in basis on the house that heirs normally get when your Mom passes. Also, there are other ramifications as well concerning aid eligibility etc... with joint ownership of house.
Also, I would consult with an accountant well versed in estates sooner rather than later as there will be income tax ramifications and depending on your state, inheritance taxes as well upon her passing. Some of these may alter your thoughts on how to best set things up for her.
You need to get yourself named durable power of attorney as well, if you don't have it already, to handle Mom's affairs going forward.
I was not financially savvy either but learned a lot handling things for my Mom after Dad died. It is definitely an educational opportunity and experience. Annuities, I am not versed in, but have heard the same as you.
Best wishes to you.
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I'm not an attorney, nor an accountant, but with my siblings and parents permission we put me on the Trust with my parents and getting all the POAs needed so I can do the financials for my parents and talk to investment firms and .... In addition, one sibling is a beneficiary of the Trust.
In your situation, I would roll annuity to mom AND get yourself added as beneficiary if not on there already. The more you set up now, the better. AND get yourself on the Trust - as a "and" not just a beneficiary, so you have access now and immediately after mom's death without the death certificate. Will save you much pain later.
Also be sure there is a will and funeral/burial arrangements and ... even consider getting your name officially on the house. Again, anything you do now...one item at a time will help you later.
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Talk to the attorney you already have.
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OldArkie Dec 2022
I heard more conflicting advice from armchair experts on how to manage finances to preserve our savings if I apply for medicaid for my wife when she goes to nursing home. What I finally did was go see an eldercare lawyer, first visit was free, and he told me exactly what steps to take to preserve our savings and house! I suggest you do the same. You will be glad you did!
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Your attorney SHOULD be able to guide / help you, and/or refer you to financial professionals who can. I am perplexed why your attorney hasn't done this already ???
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If you have a good elder attorney listen to their advice? Every little bit of money helps
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Agree with a couple of the posters - talk to the company that issued the annuity and see what is allowed for the policy. And does Dad's will spell out how his finances are to be handled or did he leave this in the hands of the executor/executrix? Also, if you do not have a financial advisor yourself, see if you elder law attorney can recommend someone. And if they are helping you set up the trust already they'll know what's been going on with it.
My Dad had a couple annuities, and they worked out well for him - I'm sure there are sketchy policies out there, so it really depends on how it was written up. Use those resources that you already have in place. And sounds like your Dad had a lot of this in place, so good for him trying to make things easier on you.
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What financial investment firm set up your parents' annuity? Please contact them for assistance and show them your late father's death certificate and original annuity contract.
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You are currently working with an Elder Care Attorney have you asked him/her what their suggestion would be in this matter? If they are setting up a Trust this would be the time to ask what the best thing to do would be.
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Go to www.bogleheads.org and ask this question.

There are annuities (SPIAs) that are a good deal for some people and other annuities that are only a good deal for the salesman who is selling them.

You need to find out what kind this is, how much it will cost to surrender it and what all the options are for investment of those funds.

In all investments, one of the most important questions is what the cost is.
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WearyJanie Nov 2022
Thank you Barb. This is very helpful. I will go take a look. What a blessing to have resources out there to access!
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I am a beneficiary on my husbands annuity. How did Dad set his up? This is a question for the company that handles the annuity. Maybe it works the way Dad said, Mom is main person now, and you just let the interest roll over till she needs the money.
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WearyJanie Nov 2022
Hi, dad was already taking a monthly distribution from this annuity, and had both his name and mom’s on it. So I can just take dad’s name off and leave it in mom’s name, and continue on as is. There is another annuity, so far no distributions taken out, that dad had in mom’s name only. Again, it was dad’s plan for his to just roll over to mom. I will see if there are unreasonable fees associated with it if I can figure out how to do that. Thank you!
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