Why Do You Need A Legal Power Of Attorney?
Here are the Top Five Ways a comprehensive legal power of attorney is the best option.
1. You can choose who will make your decisions, not the court.
When you have a signed power of attorney, and you become incapacitated and are unable to make decisions, the agent you name can step into your shoes and make important financial decisions. Without it, a guardianship or conservatorship may need to be established. This process can be very expensive.
2. Your POA will help your family avoid the necessity of a guardianship or conservatorship.
As mentioned above, without a comprehensive power of attorney in the event of incapacity, the court will decide who to appoint on your behalf. This person will manage your financial and/or health affairs and continue to monitor the situation as long as you are alive. Imagine, all of this without ever having any input into who will be appointed to serve.
3. Your POA provides family members a good opportunity to discuss wishes and desires.
When you choose your POA, you invest considerable thought and consideration. In fact, it is one of the most important decisions you will make. This process offers a good opportunity to talk to family members about wishes and expectations should something happen to you.
4. You can be as comprehensive as you like. The more detailed, the better.
We grow older and we begin to change how we think about things. Your POA can be detailed to share how decisions can and should be made on your behalf about such topics as long term care and applying for benefits from the government etc. If you do not spell things out, decisions that do not reflect your wishes could be made that also could be time consuming and costly to fix. Take away the possibility of that by creating detailed POA documents.
5. Your agent will not have to guess what you want.
You have probably read about her heard about court battles that arise when a person is incapacitated and the family “thinks they know” your intent. A strongly drafted POA along with other health care directives eliminate any arguing and disagreements over a family member’s wishes. A POA is excellent evidence of your own intent and is difficult to dispute.
At Keystone Law Firm, we help people get their affairs in order. Call us now at (480) 418-8448 to learn how you can get your estate plan–including these critical power of attorney documents–completed today.
