We thought we were well prepared. More than well prepared. I’s were dotted and T’s crossed. We had figured out health insurance – domestic and foreign coverage. The ink was dry on our lease and management agreement for the rental of our condominium. Our wills were prepared and deposited in our newly opened safe deposit box at the bank, with my mother back home signed up as our agent and in possession of a copy of the key. Power-of-attorney (POA) documents were drafted, executed and distributed. Banks and credit card companies were notified of our impending travels and our records noted with requests not to freeze our accounts for unusual activity abroad. Title to our car was signed and notarized for transfer. We even prepared a sealed doomsday document with all of our electronic account information and passwords, just in case. A bit excessive perhaps, but the Eagle Scout and lawyer in us thought it better to be safe than sorry.
Turns out that these preparations were not excessive enough.
A stack of legal documents inches thick giving someone back home access to your accounts isn’t much use when it comes to banks and health insurance companies that refuse to accept them. Twice my mother has tried to utilize the financial and health care POA documents that we had our estates attorney prepare last summer before we left. Twice those institutions came back requiring us to complete their own paperwork in addition to the legally binding and valid POA.
With our health insurance company, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, they at least sent us one form that hopefully, when it arrives in the States a month from now (international mail is not exactly swift), will give my mom the ability to do all of things that she should be able to do now based on the POA – access health information on my behalf, pay bills, etc.
TD Bank has been another story…
In addition to freezing our bank account nearly every time we enter a new country (and imposing a $65/day ATM withdrawal limit in Thailand – which is a cheap country, but not that cheap!), we have spent nearly a month getting the runaround on trying to send a wire transfer either from abroad or having my mom do it via her POA. It went something like this:
Call customer service. Be informed that we have to write a letter of explanation. Email and scanned copies are not acceptable. Prepare letter. Print letter. Fax letter. Await response. Await response. Await response. Call customer service. Be informed that there is no record of said letter, and that we need to call our local branch. (Use social media to vent frustration about the ineptitude of TD Bank customer service). Call local branch. Be told we must physically be present in the branch for them to be of any assistance. Send mom to local branch. Be informed that we have to write another letter. Prepare letter. Print letter. Fax letter. Have lawyer call TD Bank to follow up on letter. Await response. Await response. Have local TD Bank branch manager inform lawyer that everything is worked out and the POA will be respected as valid. Have same local TD Bank branch manager inform my mom that POA will not be respected as valid. Be informed that we need to fill out yet another form. (Immediately withdraw large chunk of money from TD Bank and transfer to a bank that seems to actually know what they are doing.) Print form. Fax form. Await response. Await response…
While I suspect that eventually TD Bank would have to accept the POA as is and without any additional forms (the non-litigator lawyer in me thinks that there must be some kind of court-based legal action that could be taken to enforce the POA, no?), I can’t imagine the stress of being in this situation when there is an emergency need to access our accounts or if Keith and I were incapacitated.
Word to the wise: if you will be traveling abroad for an extended period of time, be sure to get and sign all of the required forms from all of the various institutions you interact with before you go. It might be a pain to have to go to all of your various banks/insurance companies, but it’s better than wandering around looking for a fax machine when you should be on the beach. Oh, and don’t use TD Bank.
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I can’t say I’m surprised. Part of the problem is that people have manuals and procedures and are afraid to deviate from them – even if appropriate or leaglly required. I have the same issue when dealing with the government – if the IRS policy manual says you do things one way, they will be done that way, even if that way is inconsistent with the statute and regulations. And I usually find the IRS easier to deal with than banks.
I cannot help but give a plug for USAA Federal Savings Bank. Started as an automobile insurance company for military officers – but now has an array of financial services offered to any current or former military service memeber (and their family members, including parents and sibilings get access). Since they specialize in serving the military – they are wonderful to deal with internationally. A frined that went into the Peace Corps told me how great it was dealing with them throughout their travels to Europe. I agree with everything you said about preparation – the point I would make i that often people think “bank locally” but when traveling you really have to think about doing it internationally and which bancks are really set-up for that.
Since you are still in Thailand – they have great medical care there if you need it. Several hospitals in Bangkok are U.S. joint commission certified – and they cater to foreign “medical;” tourists. Many of the dotors in Bangkok trainind in Europe or the U.S. and many speak English. Just a heads-up if you need care. Chok Dee!!
Amy/Keith,
Your estates attorney probably has everything under control, but Steve Miller and I here do some commercial lending work with TD; shall I check with him to see if he has a contact who might be able to assist? We don’t work on the consumer side, but still…
I don’t know if you are going to be home again for a bit or if you can do this from abroad, but we just ended up adding my dad to our bank account. It ended up being a lot less hassle and he has been able to add in checks, talk to the bank, etc., because he is a co-owner of the account.