The Power of Attorney compels you!
Granting somebody power of attorney, conditional to you being incapacitated or otherwise, is a way of making sure somebody has the power to make decisions for you when you are incapable of doing so. However, it is an enormous decision to make and requires a lot of trust in the person you grant this power to. That being said, with the help of a good attorney, a lot of potential risks and problems can be avoided with careful drafting.
Power of attorney can be done in a lot of ways. You can grant people power over only limited situations, power to make decisions regarding your health, your property, your finances, etc. You can make a grant of power of attorney limited to only one or two specific situations-for instance if you are in a coma for a certain period of time. You can grant somebody the power to sign a document, such as purchasing a home, and limit the grant of power to that specific person, on a specific day, to sign a specific version of a document.
Power of attorney does not generally survive if you become incapacitated. This has given rise to something called a durable power of attorney. This is a broad grant of power to act on your behalf if you are incapacitated and should only be granted to somebody you trust absolutely. You can also set up power of attorney to take effect only when a certain event, such as your incapacity, comes to pass. Similarly, you can set specific events which would end that power of attorney.
Power of attorney grants are important element of planning your legacy and we ask about them here at LifeWritr. Having a fall back plan in case you’re laid up for an extended period of time is a smart idea. However, you should never grant power of attorney without a great deal of consideration and professional legal advice.