Mark Mateya, Author at Mateya Law Firm

Power of Attorney: Now That the Law Has Changed. . .

Mark Mateya2015-03-25T12:27:14-04:00March 16th, 2015|Power of Attorney Abuse|

Our Pennsylvania Legislature changed the law concerning the Power of Attorney (POA) without much fanfare. The rules about accepting or rejecting an agent’s actions (we no longer refer to them as the Attorney-in-Fact) under the authority of the Power of Attorney have changed dramatically. Even some of the basic definitions of words we have used have changed, and some definitions have been completely deleted. If you need to use your power of attorney document, or if you are appointed as the agent on someone’s power of attorney document, you need to be aware of these changes.

Banks are now routinely asking […]

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Important Announcement from Mateya Law Firm

Mark Mateya2015-03-04T11:19:13-05:00March 4th, 2015|Estate Planning and Administration|

Mateya Law Firm’s computers have been hacked. We want to make you aware of how this happened so that you can learn and, perhaps, protect yourself. We are in the midst of a computer upgrade. We are still running two older computers on the Windows XP system. The virus, CryptoLocker, attacked the older computers only and it locked us out of our own data. The virus then demands a ransom for the “key” to unlock your data. We are not paying any ransom.

It does not appear that any private information was stolen.

The good news is that our internet protection, Carbonite, […]

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Taking Care of Our Loved Ones: My Own Story

Mark Mateya2015-02-17T14:41:05-05:00February 17th, 2015|General, Taking Care of Your Parents: My Own Story|

We all want the best for our loved ones. My mom wanted to stay in her own house ‘for as long as possible.’ And that’s what my brothers and I did. We put as much support around her as we could. We tried to take care of the house, which was built in the 60’s so it needed consistent attention by 2010, and allowed her to stay in her home.
What changed, however, was mom. She was no longer the vibrant, “digging in the garden and hanging out the laundry” person she had always been. And most of us do not […]

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Power of Attorney: Can My Bank Insist I Use Their Form?

Mark Mateya2017-01-17T22:40:58-05:00February 10th, 2015|Estate, Estate Planning and Administration|

You walk into the bank with your lawyer-drafted Power of Attorney form and ask to see Aunt Milly’s bank statements.

“I’m sorry; this isn’t a BIG BAD BANK form. Here at BIG BAD BANK, we have our own forms which are practically perfect. You have to use one of our forms.

“But my attorney drafted this. I paid good money for it!”

“But here at BIG BAD BANK, we’re looking out for the little guy. We know what the form is supposed to look like. Sorry.”

That conversation has been the norm for many years in Pennsylvania. And, in BIG BAD BANK’S defense, there […]

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Estate Planning – The Power Of Attorney Law Has Changed

Mark Mateya2015-01-29T14:51:58-05:00January 29th, 2015|Estate|

In July of 2014, Pennsylvania’s legislature changed the Power of Attorney Law in substantial ways. This blog is only going to address one of those changes. In succeeding entries, I will address some of the other changes.

Before I begin, please understand that your power of attorney document can be drafted to your specification. In fact, it should be drafted and personalized to your desires. The changes that I am going to address are the ‘default’ changes which the statute has made. With few exceptions, your document can be made to do precisely what you wish for it to do.

Also, remember […]

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Estate Planning – Why A Trust?

Mark Mateya2017-01-17T22:32:51-05:00January 21st, 2015|Estate Planning and Administration|

It seems to go in cycles . . . you don’t hear anything about “Living Trusts” for a year or two, then someone like Suze Orman says . . .

“You must have a trust.” So what about you? Do you need a trust? Suze says you do (and unless I’m mistaken, you haven’t met Suze personally).

This is not a ‘bash Suze Orman’ column. She has solid financial insights on some things. This is a blog to tell you that the “one size fits all” living trust is dangerous.

Estate planning, like financial planning, needs to be personalized. The computer programs or […]

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Mateya Law Administrator

About Mark Mateya

Power of Attorney: Now That the Law Has Changed. . .

Important Announcement from Mateya Law Firm

Taking Care of Our Loved Ones: My Own Story

Power of Attorney: Can My Bank Insist I Use Their Form?

Estate Planning – The Power Of Attorney Law Has Changed

Estate Planning – Why A Trust?

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