Power of Attorney

Do you know who will make your decisions if you can no longer speak or act on your own? Do you know who will manage your assets? For too many people, the answer to these questions isno. You cannot afford to leave these issues up to chance. If you want to control your destiny and you want to save your family from fighting or being forced to make difficult choices, you need to create a power of attorney.

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Power of Attorney & Advance Health Care Directive

Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directives are generally used to nominate a person to assist you with your financial affairs and healthcare during any period of time when you are incapable of making your own decisions.

In most cases, everyWill and/or Trustthat is prepared in our office will be accompanied by a Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive. Generally, forEstate Planningpurposes, we find that clients are mostly able to handle their own finances and healthcare. There are several circumstances which create a need for financial and healthcare assistance. Sometimes, this need is generated by the simple fact that you are out of town and cannot be present to make your own financial decisions. However, these documents are normally used when an elderly person becomes physically or mentally unable to handle their own affairs.

With a Durable Power of Attorney for Finance, we generally recommend that a client execute a Durable Power of Attorney for Financial Management (DPA). A DPA can grant limited authority or can grant authority to undertake any financial transactions on your behalf. The person you select to make your financial decisions for you is known as the “Attorney in Fact” and will have the power to sign documents in your name, hold and spend your bank accounts and generally manage your assets.

An Advance Health Care Directive is similar to a DPA, except it is designed to allow your Attorney in Fact to make health care decisions on your behalf, access your medical records and also gives directions as to end of life care, life support, organ donation and handling of your remains following your death.

A Durable Power of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directive can both be made effective immediately; however, either of these documents can be made ineffective until such time as you become incapacitated and cannot make your decisions. Normally, incapacity would be decided by a group of at least three physicians.