Through a Power of Attorney, you grant permission to another person to make decisions on your behalf. There are different types of power of attorney and your estate planning attorney Boca Raton Law Firm, The Berman Law Group, can draft one that serves your purpose.
It is not surprising that documents assigning Power of Attorney are often requested in Boca Raton. After all, the median age of all people in Boca Raton was 46.4 in 2015. As people get closer to 50, it is natural that they contemplate their mortality and ways to protect their families and themselves should they become incapacitated.
Through a Designation of Health Care Surrogate, also known as Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care also referred to as DPOAHC, you assign to an adult the power to make medical decisions on your behalf when your doctor determines that you cannot willfully state your desires.
Similarly, with a Durable Power of Attorney, you assign the right to make decisions on your behalf. However, in this case, the agent will be making financial decisions. With the Durable Power of Attorney, you decide how much authority over your finances you want the person to have. It could be just providing them access to a checking account to pay your bills and medical expenses and sort through your mail. It is essential to choose a responsible person you completely trust to handle your money and property. You might want to think of this Power of Attorney document as critical because if you do not assign power of attorney to an adult, the court will choose and appoint the person for you and it might not be the person you would want. Also, while the court goes through the often slow process of assigning an agent, your finances might be on hold.
In choosing an agent to speak on your behalf, you want to select someone who will stand up for you and ask for clarification when they don't understand something. You may decide to grant power to the same person to make both medical and financial decisions for you or choose different agents. The estate attorney Boca Raton expert at The Berman Law Group will ask you questions to ensure both your wishes and purpose are represented. A financial power of attorney can also be prepared for several or one-time financial transactions such as a real estate closing. In those cases, you would choose for a limited power of attorney to go into effect even if you are not incapacitated.