When we create your Trust and/or Will, we will draft a Durable/Financial Power of Attorney (POA) for you at the same time. This POA is effective immediately and allows you to name another person (or more than one) to stand in your shoes and help run your day to day life if you are unavailable, or incapacitated. They can pay your bills, call the utility company for any reason, upgrade your Netflix account, do your banking …. Any of the things you would do if you were available.

A Special/Specific Power of Attorney allows a person to step into your shoes to act on a “specific” piece of real estate.  Meaning, not on matters regarding your day to day life like the above.  But they can sign the papers to sell your house, or buy a house, for you while you are out of town.  Their powers are “specific” to the property named in the POA. Typically a Durable POA is not strong enough for someone to stand in your shoes  and sell your property, you need this other kind. We can create this document for you, in the event you are out of town, or out of the country, while you are trying to buy or sell a home.

A Medical Power of Attorney  names one person who can make a decision regarding your medical needs while you are incapacitated.  They can’t run your day to day like the Durable POA allows, but they can make a decision regarding things the doctor needs to know.  They can allow the plug to get pulled.  They can allow an operation …. Things that sometimes the doc needs to know right away.  The state only allows for one (1) Medical POA because we don’t want two of them arguing over if the plug should get pulled or not.  But you can (and should) name an alternate, I case the doc can’t get a hold of your first choice and a decision needs to be made.

Mental Health Power of Attorney

A mental Health Power of Attorney allows a person to designate an agent for matters relating to his/her mental health care.  Like a Medical POA, only one agent can be named, although naming an alternate agent (who stands in if the first named agent is unable or unwilling to serve) is standard form. This POA allows the agent to make decisions that may include medications, admission to a mental health treatment center, and other mental health care decisions that the agent believes to be in the person’s best interest.