About the guides
We created guides tailored to the needs of people in four different fiduciary capacities:
- Agents under a power of attorney
- Court-appointed guardians
- Trustees
- Government fiduciaries (Social Security representative payees and VA fiduciaries)
Each guide contains information on the fiduciary’s responsibilities and tips on how to spot financial exploitation and avoid scams. Also, each guide includes a “Where to go for help” section with a listing of relevant agencies and service providers.
The guides are not intended to provide legal advice or serve as a substitute for your own legal counsel.
State-specific guides
Because people’s powers and duties as a fiduciary vary from state to state, we also created six sets of state-specific Managing Someone Else’s Money guides. We selected six states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, and Virginia) with high populations of older adults and created guides for each. These state guides provide information about the state’s unique laws and practices, as well as state-specific resources (find these guides below).
To make it easy for legal and aging experts in other states to adapt the guides for their states, we developed a set of tips and templates for creating state-specific versions. The tips summarize what we learned by collaborating with lawyers and other professionals to produce several state-specific versions. Below you'll find a Microsoft Word template for each type of guide.
Experts in several states used our tips and templates to create their own state-specific guides. Find those guides at:
- Michigan: protectmymoneymi.org
- Texas: protecttheirmoneytx.org
- Alabama: states.aarp.org/msembooklet (Help for agents under a power of attorney)
Order or download the guides
For each guide, you can:
- Download the guide as a PDF, which is best for web viewing
- Order a free printed copy through GSA
- Order these materials in bulk
Power of attorney
This guide is for people who have been named in a power of attorney to make decisions about money and property for someone else. You can also order these in bulk at GPO.gov or download tips on adapting the guide for your state.
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Help for agents under a power of attorney
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Ayuda para agentes bajo un poder legal
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Help for agents under a durable power of attorney in Arizona
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Help for agents under a durable power of attorney in Florida
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Help for agents under a power of attorney in Georgia
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Help for agents under a power of attorney in Illinois
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Help for agents under a power of attorney in Oregon
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Help for agents under a power of attorney in Virginia
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Power of attorney Microsoft Word template
Court-appointed guardians
This guide is for those who have been appointed by a court to be guardians of property or conservators, giving them the duty and the power to make financial decisions on someone’s behalf. You can also order these in bulk at GPO.gov or download tips on adapting the guide for your state.
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Help for court-appointed guardians of property and conservators
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Ayuda para los guardianes o tutores de propiedades nombrados por el tribunal
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Help for court-appointed conservators in Arizona
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Help for court-appointed guardians of the property in Florida
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Help for court-appointed guardians of the property in Georgia
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Help for court-appointed guardians of the estate in Illinois
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Help for court-appointed conservators in Oregon
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Help for court-appointed conservators in Virginia
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Court-appointed guardians Microsoft Word template
Trustees
This guide is for those who have been named as trustees under revocable living trusts. In these cases, ownership of some or all money and property has been transferred to a trust and, as a result, the person named as a trustee has the power to make decisions about what is in the trust. You can also order these in bulk at GPO.gov or download tips on adapting the guide for your state.
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust
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Ayuda para fideicomisarios bajo un fideicomiso en vida revocable
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust in Arizona
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust in Florida
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust in Georgia
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust in Illinois
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Help for trustees under a revocable trust in Oregon
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Help for trustees under a revocable living trust in Virginia
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Trustees Microsoft Word template
Government fiduciaries
This guide is for those who have been appointed by a government agency to manage income benefits, such as Social Security or Veterans Affairs benefit checks, for someone. You can also order these in bulk at GPO.gov or download tips on adapting the guide for your state.
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries
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Ayuda para los representantes de beneficiarios y fiduciarios del VA
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Arizona
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Florida
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Georgia
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Illinois
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Oregon
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Help for representative payees and VA fiduciaries in Virginia
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Government fiduciaries Word template