Future Planning 3 – Power of Attorney

While it’s often typical to think that you are going to just go about your business much as you have so far until one day you die suddenly, the facts do not support that being typical. Recent studies show that about 70% of people turning 65 will need some sort of long-term care during their lifetime. Also, most of us have relatives or know of individuals who have Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia. So, during those times of your life, it is quite possible that you will need to have your affairs tended to by someone else. That is what a Power of Attorney (POA) is for.

POAs can be very specific and only give very limited powers to someone. Or they can be fairly broad and allow another individual almost unlimited control over your financial and legal affairs. But having one can solve a whole host of problems. Just consider some of the things that you might need done for you:

·         You are in a nursing home and someone needs to be able to collect your mail, open the bill from the electric company and pay it (using money in your own checking account) so that your power does not get turned off.

·         You are suffering from Alzheimer’s and no longer are able to drive. Who can take care of the selling of your car so that you have additional cash for nursing home payments?

In its broadest usage, a POA gives someone else the ability to do whatever you might be able to do, both legally and financially. While that may seem scary, and is not something to be done lightly, that is exactly what may be needed in some circumstance that you may find yourself. The person to whom you give that authority needs to be someone whom you have absolute trust in. But if you do not have a POA, then the consequences can be rather severe as well.

My mother-in-law was living at home by herself after the death of my father-in-law. She began having falling incidents and in a matter of just a few days found herself in a hospital, then in a nursing home. She never lived at home again for the last 18 months of her life. But because she had a few years earlier signed a POA and given me all the responsibility, I was able to handle her affairs, become a co-signer on her bank accounts, sell her vehicle, and do everything needed.

I strongly urge that a POA be part of your end-of-life planning.