power of attorney

If you do not have a power of attorney I would venture to guess that it is because you do not realize how much money, time and trouble having a power of attorney already in place can save you if and when the need arises.  Many people also are unaware of how little a Power of Attorney can cost.

I am often contacted after a spouse or a family member has had some type of debilitating accident or event.  The family needs to consent to a form of treatment, get the person admitted to a facility or access funds to carry on business or living expenses.  Unless a Power of Attorney is in place, those things cannot be done if the spouse or family member is unable to consent or communicate.

At that point there are only two methods available to proceed.  You must either have a Power of Attorney or you must obtain Guardianship/Conservatorship through the Probate Court.  A Power of Attorney is no longer an option once the person is under a disability.  The Guardianship/Conservatorship is going to take weeks of time and several thousand dollars.  A Power of Attorney could have been obtained prior to the disability in a matter of minutes and for a small fraction of that price.

Everyone needs a Power of Attorney.  It is important that you have complete trust in the person to whom you grant Power of Attorney.  For this reason, I tell clients that the ONLY exception to everyone needing a Power of Attorney is if there is NO ONE anywhere that you trust to grant this authority.  It is a very quick, simple and relatively inexpensive way to avoid and/or resolve what can otherwise be a a very expensive and cumbersome process.