By definition, power of attorney is a legal document that gives one individual authorization to work on another individual’s behalf. This authorization can extend to financial decisions, medical decisions, or (if the document provides for it) all decisions pertaining to a person’s wellbeing. On today’s blog, we review three situations in which you may need a power of attorney, as well as why it is important to include in any basic will or estate plan.
Scenario #1: You Become Incapacitated and Need to Make Medical Decisions
If you become physically incapacitated and you are unable to make decisions on your own behalf, someone else will have to step in for you. Without a power of attorney, any person (including a spouse) would have to go through a court to gain explicit permission to make decisions for you. By executing a power of attorney, though, you can name who you would like to decide things about your health such as whether doctors should resuscitate you, what kind of medicine you want to receive, and how long you would want to exist in a vegetative state. While these situations are often unpleasant to think about, it is important to plan ahead of time for their possible occurrence.
Importantly, this kind of power of attorney only kicks in when you are truly incapacitated, i.e. you are unable to make any decisions at all. It does not apply when all that is happening is that the people in your life disagree with the decisions you are making.
Scenario #2: You Are Traveling and Need Someone to Step In
Many people use a power of attorney for a process like a real estate transaction – that is, they hire another person to represent them in the closing transaction. If you are traveling, or if you simply would like someone else to appear for the sake of convenience, you can use a power of attorney for your benefit.
Scenario #3: You Become Unable to Manage Your Financial Affairs
Thirdly, you might develop some kind of medical condition that disallows you from making financial decisions. At this juncture, it would be important to have already decided which person should be making those decisions on your behalf. Your power of attorney should name a person that you trust and that understands your financial goals ahead of time.
Have You Called McCulloch & Miller for Your Estate Planning Needs?
At McCulloch & Miller, we are a team of Houston estate planning attorneys with decades of experience in helping our clients set up their estate plans for success. We believe that every person’s estate plan should include a power of attorney, and we are prepared to help you make sure you have this element, as well as many other important elements, in your will. In order to move forward in your own estate planning process, give our firm a call as soon as possible.
To set up a consultation with a Houston estate planning attorney from our team, call us today at 713-597-7176. You can also fill out our online form, and an attorney will reach out to talk with you about the details of your case as soon as possible.