Wills and Power of Attorney

This is really good information, thank you.  If your living here permanently but you have Will and POA from another country, then this can cause alot of issues for you, and as you say, better to check into this sooner than later.

Also not legal advice, but when we bought our new plot of land, we asked our lawyer about wills.  We brought copies of our Canadian ones, thinking it would be a good starting point.  It was even easier.  He asked us to write a note on a piece of paper; date, wishes (everything goes to the spouse), ID numbers and sign.  It goes in a sealed envelope which is stamped by the lawyer and not opened until one of us dies.  Seems too simple, but exactly what is necessary?

No  UncleBuck that is not legal here.  Do not follow that advice. You have assets and businesses here get a proper will! 

@planner Very true, and we are both owners on everything, so that shouldn't be an issue, should one of us pass away.  We are very close with our children, so that wouldn't be a problem should they inherit a portion.  But, you do bring up a good point...the business.  A lady with 2 discount store locations passed away rather quickly recentl in our area, and the doors to both businesses have closed.  She didn't have a partner, so that makes things very difficult for her estate and the employees in particular I imagine.  Food for thought for us, and worth a longer discussion with our lawyer.

Having things in joint name here also doesn't help a lot.  Get those wills done honey.

@planner

Hi new to this chat. I am an attorney, but in NYC and very familiar with Trust and Estates and Elder law.  Hopefully soon I’ll be relocating/retiring maybe to DR.  Anyway, yes get a proper Will done and make sure POA is durable and also look into Health Care proxy!

I don’t know the laws in DR, but these are the basics I would advise to look into if you lived in NY

@salfasi

How would you treat a will if in different countries? Will for each country that pertains to?

@planner hello and thanks.  I had a few questions on  attorney Polanco if possible please

@planner Hi. . I tried to send you this directly but I think it went to expat.com. Possibly operator error, I'm a new boy. I sent my deed in contract to attorney Polanco 2 days ago. He has been MIA ever since. No email confirmation, texts, calls, or responses to messages. What makes it a little more disconcerting is I can find nothing on him via the Internet except the expat recommendations. It is a relief that you know him personally and have conducted business with him. I know it's totally different than anything I ever experienced or imagined here so are you able to provide any intel or opinion as to if this is just normal SOP?. He seemed like a nice guy talking to him and I hope he's okay. I don't want to overreact but at the same time I must confirm I'm not going to end up with an unwanted cloud on my title or worse. By the way you've helped a lot of people and seem to be a very kind person. Much respect for that and I understand no matter what happened here it's my responsibility. Again any further input or Intel you provide will be immensely appreciated. Have a fine evening.

I wanted to update my previous slightly panicked post. Mr. Polanco did contact me early this morning and "Planner" went out of her way to assist me in securing that contact. She is good people. Although I did not complete any transactions with Mr Polanco, I am aware of nothing that indicates he did anything unscrupulous. It may not be worth much coming from me, particularly given some of my own Reckless irresponsibility in making decisions here, but be really careful here. Special Souls like Planner can assist us all to do the right thing but we are accountable ultimately for our decisions in Destiny

Happy to help when I can!

@planner Sadly this man has made some very bad choices. He prepared my will and testament documents without a hitch. Following that he was to process a transfer of title for my villa purchase. Nine months later I have had to employ a new lawyer as Mr Polanco has stolen my transfer tax  money. He is a fraudulent lawyer and works for the police department.

Thank you for the feedback. I will message you privately and see if I can help you!