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 The
function of a Durable Power of Attorney is to eliminate
the need for conservator ship or guardianship proceedings
in a court of law should you ever become incapacitated
and are unable to manage your own decisions.
The
Durable Power of Attorney keeps you in charge of your
own destiny. You, not some judge, will determine who has
the legal authority to act for you should the time ever
come when you cannot make decisions for yourself. Unless
and until such incapacity occurs, you continue to retain
full control over your affairs. If it does, the person
you have appointed will take over your affairs and act
within the guidelines and restrictions you have already
established.
The
person you've chosen to act in your behalf is called your
attorney in fact. Clearly, your attorney in fact must
be someone you trust completely. This could be your spouse
or another responsible member of your family or a friend.
Additionally, the law gives you power to impose reasonable
limitations and guidelines on the actions, which your
attorney in fact can take.
Your
Attorney In Fact Represents You
The
attorney in fact can pay bills, deposit checks, handle
taxes, sell stocks, invest in securities - in short, everything
that you would otherwise do for yourself. You can specify
in your Durable Power or Attorney whether you wish to
have your money invested in stocks and bonds, real estate,
or simply allowed to stay safely in a bank. As a safeguard,
you can direct that your representative cannot sell or
encumber your house as long as you're alive.
This
is precisely how you can avoid becoming a victim of negligence
or fraud or incompetence.
If
your financial affairs were far more complicated, you
could draft your Durable Power of Attorney to meet precisely
those need and circumstances. In other words, flexibility
is the key.
But
this is not all.
Medical
and Health Care Decisions
The
Durable Power of Attorney authorizes the person you've
selected to make medical and health care decisions when
you're in no position to make them for yourself. This
may involve honoring your desire to be cared for by a
particular physician in a particular medical facility,
or it may involve prohibiting the use of heroic medical
efforts to sustain life artificially long after it has
ceased to exist in any meaningful manner.
The
point is, is the Durable Power of Attorney allows you
to express your wishes in a legal form and gives your
attorney in fact the required power to implement them
for you. You can revoke this power at any time as long
as you're competent.
Avoids
Court Proceedings
Remember,
without the Durable Power of Attorney, court proceedings
may be necessary to appoint a person with legal authority
to handle the incapacitated person's financial affairs.
Such guardianship or conservator ship proceedings are
costly, time-consuming, public and embarrassing. A court-appointed
conservator has to post a bond cost of which comes out
of your estate. He has to make periodic accountings to
the court of his actions. His powers are highly restricted
and always subject to court supervision. Once a conservator
is appointed, it will take another order of the court
to replace him even though he proves to be incompetent
or negligent.
At Munley,
Munley & Cartwright, our goal is to provide exceptional legal services to our
clients. We strive to achieve the highest standard of excellence for the
protection of individual rights through team work and the use of our
considerable resources and experience. For a free consultation regarding
your legal concerns, please submit the below, or call us at:
1-800-318-LAW1
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