Durable Power of Attorney: Protecting Your Property Against Incapacity
- December 8, 2021
A durable power of attorney (DPOA) is a tool that allows someone to carry on your financial affairs and protect your property in a period of incapacity, almost always with no need to seek formal judicial approval. A DPOA is a legal document that gives another person the legal authority to act for you. The person to whom authority is given is referred to as an attorney-in-fact, but need not be an attorney.
You may want to execute a DPOA because in today's modern age of medical miracles, your life expectancy has increased and so have your chances of becoming physically or mentally incapable of managing your own financial affairs. A devastating illness or serious accident can happen suddenly at any age. Old age can bring senility, Alzheimer's disease, or other ailments that affect your ability to make sound decisions. You may not be able to pay your bills, write checks, make deposits, sell assets, or otherwise conduct your business. This can undermine your financial, tax, and estate planning strategies, exhaust your savings, or create debt.
Unless you have authorized someone to carry on your financial affairs, a relative or friend will have to ask the court to appoint a guardian. This public procedure can be embarrassing, emotionally draining, time-consuming, and expensive. By executing a DPOA, you select the person you trust and almost always keep the court out of it.
There are two types of DPOAs. A standby DPOA becomes effective as soon as you sign it while a springing DPOA does not become effective until you become incapacitated.
A durable power of attorney (DPOA) is preferable to a court appointment of a guardian because the latter procedure is time-consuming and expensive; it opens to public view incapacity and financial affairs.
SPENCER NURSE
Title:FINANCIAL ADVISOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR-INVESTMENTS
The Nurse Team has more than 50 years of combined experience in financial planning strategies. As of May 2021, the Team manages over $200 million in client assets. The team focuses on risk-adjusted investment management when assisting clients in addressing their retirement, educational, and philanthropic goals. Spencer and his team take direct responsibility of investment management for client portfolios. In the evolving markets and changes in clients’ lives, the team focuses on creating goal based strategies that are tailored to client’s specific situation at various stages in life.
Contact Us