Durable Power of Attorney
Estate planning attorneys work to anticipate and prepare people for situations that most of us would rather not think about. Incapacity is one of those situations.
Do you know what would happen if you were in an accident or got sick and you were unconscious or unable to communicate? If no one could access your accounts, your bills could go unpaid. Your financial situation could become a mess very quickly.
If you have a durable power of attorney in place, however, your agent could step in right away and take over. The team at the Law Office of Cameron H.P. White, P.A. prepares durable power of attorney documents that are designed for your specific situation, giving your agent as much or as little power as you want for the time that you specify.
How a Power of Attorney Works
When you give someone power of attorney, you are authorizing them to act on your behalf. You don’t lose the ability to make your own decisions, as you would if someone had financial guardianship over you. Instead, you share power with your agent. The document is referred to as “durable” because it remains in force if you become incapacitated. In years past, many power of attorney documents became invalid if the creator lost legal capacity. Since this is the time when a power of attorney is most useful, a power of attorney is now often presumed to be durable unless it specifically says otherwise.
Power of attorney can be limited in many ways. For instance, you might want to designate someone to sign legal paperwork for you while you are on vacation. Or you might want to enable a family member to help you pay bills. You can give someone access to only one or two accounts, or give them the same authority that you have.
Because power of attorney can be a powerful document, we take the time to explain your options and potential effects of your choices. That way you can feel confident that you are making the right decisions to protect your future.
Power of Attorney is Better Than Adding Someone to Your Accounts
Many people who want help with financial matters or want to ensure that their bills will be paid if something happens to them decide the best way to deal with the problem is to add the name of a friend or family member to their bank account. However, this can cause some serious difficulties that can be avoided if you use a power of attorney instead.
When you add someone’s name to your account, you are not just allowing them access to the account. You are giving them ownership of the account. That means that if your friend or family member gets sued or gets into debt, their creditors could take all of your money. If you give that person power of attorney instead, they can still pay bills, move money around, and take care of business, but the money is not legally theirs, so their creditors can’t access it, and you are protected.
Learn More About the Benefits of a Durable Power of Attorney from the Law Office of Cameron H.P. White, P.A.
In a perfect world, you would never need a durable power of attorney. But we all know that emergencies happen, and if you are prepared, you can save yourself and your family considerable trouble in the future. Executing a power of attorney now would prevent your family from needing to ask the court for guardianship in the future, which is a lengthy and expensive process.
At the Law Office of Cameron H.P. White, P.A., we take the time to ensure that the power of attorney documents we prepare grant just the right amount of authority, and that you understand how the power operates. Contact us today to get started with the power of attorney you need to protect yourself and your family.