There are many tasks that people in New York need to complete each day. People also need to plan for future events that they expect to occur or there is a potential of occurring. This is true for death as well. It is inevitable that everyone will pass away at some point in time and preparing for it by having a good estate plan is important. People may think about Wills or Trusts when they think about estate planning, but there are also other documents which people should have drafted in their estate plan.
Considerations when drafting Powers of Attorney
One of those documents is a Power of Attorney. In very basic terms, this document gives another individual named in the document the authority to make financial decisions for the person. The powers can extend to almost any financial transaction and gives the person access and legal use of their bank accounts.
This means that people need to choose wisely when choosing this individual. People may want to consider having two named agents in order to ensure that more than one person needs to concur to make certain financial transactions. Naming an alternate agent is also important in case the first one is unable or unwilling to act as the agent.
Also, people may want to make sure that the authority continues if they are incapacitated. If people are in a situation where they cannot make their own decisions, the agent can ensure that the person’s finances and handled appropriately until they can control them on their own again.
Why thinking about incapacitation is important
Planning for events like being incapacitated or dying are not something that people in New York think about on a daily basis, but should be addressed. When doing it, one document that people may overlook is a Power of Attorney. This is a powerful document and is one that needs to be done correctly to prevent potential abuse of the authority. Experienced attorneys understand its significance and may be able ensure they are drafted correctly.
