Powers of Attorney are a low-cost and efficient way to decide who has the authority to carry out your affairs in the event that you are unable to speak or act on your own behalf. Typically, the individual designated to handle your affairs when you become incapacitated is your spouse, and your children after that, but you can designate who that you would like to handle your affairs in your Powers of Attorney. These documents are a cornerstone of every well-drafted estate plan and should be drafted by a competent elder law attorney.
A Durable Power of Attorney, also known as a Financial Power of Attorney, allows for a designated individual to help you manage your financial affairs when you are unable to take care of them yourself. Our Financial Power of Attorney allows for the agent to broadly manage your financial affairs so that he or she can do so in your best interest.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney allows for a designated individual to make healthcare decisions on your behalf when you are unable to make those decisions. Our Healthcare Power of Attorney is broad and allows for the agent to broadly make healthcare decisions regarding medicines, treatment, and personnel in a manner that is in our client’s best interest, and also allows for him or her to remain in their personal residence for as long as possible.
If you become unable to speak or act on your own behalf and do not have Powers of Attorney, then your loved ones may be forced to undergo a lengthy, expensive, and court-supervised proceeding known as a guardianship in order to speak or act on your behalf. Guardianship proceedings may also be necessary if an attorney drafts incorrect Powers of Attorney or Powers of Attorney that do not contain the language necessary to allow for your agent to act on your behalf. That is why it is imperative that all estate plans include Powers of Attorney, as without them a court proceeding is probably inevitable.