In the past, we have covered power of attorney on our estate planning blog, reviewing when it might be appropriate to have someone step in to make medical decisions on your behalf. As discussed, the concept of “power of attorney” allows another individual to make decisions on your behalf. The individual will only be able to make decisions for you, however, if you are both incapacitated and declared incapacitated by your doctor.
There are times when individuals want to revoke the power of attorney they have assigned, such as when the power of attorney is not performing his or her duties diligently when there are signs of elder abuse, or when there is another person that might be better suited for the job. Today, we review this process and clarify the steps necessary to revoke a Texas power of attorney.
What Steps Are Required in Texas to Revoke a Power of Attorney?
There are several possible avenues you can take if you would like to take away power of attorney from an individual you’ve previously assigned to the role. As long as you are physically and mentally able to revoke the position, you can complete these steps at any time.
The first and most advisable avenue is writing and signing a letter stating you are revoking the power of attorney. Importantly, the letter must be signed in front of a notary public, and you must deliver copies to the current power of attorney as well as any individual that has been impacted by the power of attorney’s decision-making.
Secondly, you can assign a new power of attorney. Once you have done this, the original power of attorney is automatically terminated. When assigning the new power of attorney, you should make sure you explicitly write that the previous power of attorney is revoked.
Lastly, you can destroy all documents in which you assigned an individual as your power of attorney, but this only works if the individual did not yet know he or she was going to be your power of attorney. This last possibility can be complicated, and we advise choosing one of the first two avenues to make sure your liability is minimized.
Ultimately, revoking power of attorney can be a tough decision, and to make sure it is the right one for you, we recommend speaking with an elder law or estate planning attorney to weigh your various options as you move forward.
Are You Looking for an Estate Planning Firm in Texas?
At McCulloch & Miller, PLLC, we cover elder law, estate planning, and trusts, giving our clients peace of mind knowing that we are able to offer a holistic and well-informed approach to our practice. If you are in Texas and you have not yet found an attorney to help you with your long-term planning, give us a call to see if we would be a good fit for you. We have been practicing for over 30 years and we are committed to maintaining the highest standard of excellence for our client family. For a consultation, call us today at 713-903-7879. You can also fill out our online form to have someone get back in touch with you as soon as possible.