To many people, estate planning is synonymous with drafting a will. They want to provide for their dependents, choose someone to administer their estate and decide what happens with their property. While wills do frequently play a critical role in modern estate plans, they are far from the only document that people need to draft.
Thorough estate plans frequently address the possibility of a personal emergency that causes incapacitation in addition to the inevitability of death. When people start to think about what might happen in an emergency, they may realize that they require the support of others in that situation. Powers of attorney are crucial for those who experience some type of incapacitating emergency.
What purpose do powers of attorney serve?
Powers of attorney are documents that take effect when an individual becomes incapacitated. If an adult ends up in a coma because of a debilitating systemic infection, their powers of attorney take effect. While an individual remains incapacitated, the agent or attorney-in-fact they selected can take control of their personal affairs.
Financial powers of attorney allow an agent to pay someone’s bills, manage their resources and oversee their finances until the incapacitated person recovers. Medical powers of attorney authorize a trusted individual to make decisions about someone’s health care when they cannot communicate their preferences to others.
Who needs powers of attorney?
Technically, any legal adult might benefit from drafting powers of attorney. In fact, many professionals recommend that young adults starting their careers or moving away for college establish powers of attorney. Many 18-year-olds do not realize that their parents lack the authority to manage their finances or make decisions about their medical care in an emergency scenario.
Anyone who does not have a spouse may require powers of attorney, as there may not otherwise be anyone with the legal authority to act on their behalf. Even those with spouses may want to draft powers of attorney in case the situations that cause their incapacitation also affect their spouses.
Expanding an estate plan to include advance directives in addition to testamentary instruments can protect people in a variety of scenarios. Powers of attorney can provide people with protection when they need it the most.
