by Keith Preston on March 31, 2010
Some topics can be covered in a very short time. This is one of those topics. The answer is “NO”.
I am sure that someone could come up with an exception to this rule. Feel free to contact me with it. The bottom line is that the other insurance company does not represent you or your best interests. In fact they are duty and contract bound to do just the opposite. They are representing your opposition. No good is going to come from you giving a recorded statement. They want to lock you down to a story that may be incomplete or one-sided because if the way they asjed the questions or the questions they asked.
The moment you try to add the important facts later you will be met with ” well that was not in your recorded statement of _____, did you not think it was important?” Do you recall being asked if that was your complete statement and if you had anything to add?
You probably can’t outsmart them on the phone. They’ve had more practice. The only way to win is to not give the statement. You are not gettting to take a recorded statement of the other party. Why should you give them a statement. Contact your insurance company. Contact your lawyer. Conatact anybody. Just don’t give a recorded statement – or any statement to the other insurance company.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
by Keith Preston on March 31, 2010
What is a Power of Attorney?
To summarize very briefly, a Power of Attorney is a document that allows you to give authority to another person of your choosing to conduct your business and act on your behalf in the same way that you would do so for yourself. That person can sign documents, enter into contracts, buy , sell and enter into any agreement that you could enter into yourself. We won’t go into all the other aspects that come into play here. To summarize again, the person to whom the power of attorney is given must act in your best interest or face liability.
Why would I want a Power of Attorney?
Most Powers of Attorney will be what is called a “Durable” Power of Attorney. What that means is that the authority of the Power of Attorney will continue to have effect even if the person who has given it suffers a disability. For the purposes of our discussion we are only talking about durable Powers of Attorney. If you are seriously injured as a result of an accident, stroke or other type illness, someone is going to have to conduct your business for you. You may be in a coma, be unable to speak or otherwise not be able to do things for yourself. In order to conduct your business someone is going to need the legal authority to do that.
There are essentially two ways to accomplish this. If there is a Power of Attorney then there is already a person in place and the Power already exists. You do not need to do anything to activate the power. No time is lost. No expense is incurred.
The other way is to get legal authority to handle your business if you are incapacitated. The way to do this is to file a Petition for Guardianship/Conservatorship. There will be attorney fees and court costs. It will take a minimum of a few weeks to complete the initial process to get authority. You will more than likely have to post a bond, which will cost more money. You will have to periodically file a report with the Court as to any actions you have taken.
The cost for having obtained a Power of Attorney is approximately one tenth the cost.
Which one sounds better so far?
Why can’t I just wait until I need the Power of Attorney and get it then?
A Power of Attorney is a document that requires “capacity”. That means that you have to have your wits about you. You have to be in your right frame of mind. You also have to be conscious. If you are in a coma, brain damaged, or on serious medication, you will not have the necessary capacity or possibly not even the ability to sign a Power of Attorney document.
The Power of Attorney is a “safety net” type of document that you have in place before you need it. You give the Power of Attorney to a person that you trust. The person that you would want to be in charge of your affairs if you could not so it yourself.
If you would like further information regarding this subject or have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.
Thanks for reading.
