When people talk about writing a will for the distribution of assets, you might have heard about power of attorney. If you hire a power of attorney for yourself, you are ensuring that someone that you trust will be in charge of making important decisions like monitoring healthcare and paying bills. In legal terms, the principal is the person who creates the power of attorney and the agent is the one receiving the power through the document.
To clear the confusion, the principal has not given up on his or her right to do the same tasks but instead grants legal authority to the agent to do specific tasks.
Here are some ways a durable power of attorney can benefit you.
Makes Decisions For you
People usually sign a power of attorney in the case in the near future they are unable to make sound decisions by themselves. When the principal later becomes incapacitated, the power of attorney can step in and make important financial decisions for the person.
If you don’t have signed a power of attorney in advance, then in such situations a guardianship or conservatorship can be established. It is a long and expensive procedure that needs to be avoided.
Avoids Conservatorship
When someone who becomes unable to make important decisions has no power of attorney, they would have no other option but to have someone else appoint a guardian or conservator. In this case, the decisions might not be made in your favour as you were not involved in appointing the person.
Since the court is involved in monitoring the situation when it comes to conservatorship, the process can be quite costly.
More Comprehensive Power of Attorney
If you have a more comprehensive power of attorney, the better. The power of attorney should reflect the fact that as people age, their needs and concerns also change.
Now seniors have more concerns about long-term care and choosing the proper care providers. They would also like their power of attorney to apply for government benefits to pay for care. So when you sign a power of attorney, you need to keep these things in mind and allow the agent to perform these tasks for you.
Speeds Up Asset Protection Planning
The power of attorney should also be granted the power to handle asset protection planning. If you fail to include a specific power to the agent then he or she won’t be able to decide on planning. This could result in thousands of dollars lost.
Therefore, it is necessary to include all the power that is important to carry out the asset planning for you. When writing wills, it is best to hire a competent lawyer to create another legal document of power of attorney.
Protects Against Financial Abuse
When planning asset protection, agents are allowed to make substantial gifts to themselves and others. If the agent doesn’t have a legal document of power of attorney, he or she could be at risk of financial abuse allegations.
Even if conflicts arise with other family members, you can consider hiring an estate litigation lawyer to help evaluate the situation.
