What is a Power of Attorney?

How can a Power of Attorney help me?

A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document in which you appoint a person you that trust completely to take care of your day-to-day finances and other business. The person you appoint as your Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is legally authorized to step into your shoes and handle your banking, pay your bills, deal with your health insurance company, file your taxes, and communicate with the government about benefits you receive such as Medicare, Medicaid, or Veterans Administration. If you change your mind about giving someone your Durable Power of Attorney, you can revoke it at any time. The appointment of your Durable Power of Attorney ends at your death.

How can having a DPOA help you? If you become sick or seriously injured and cannot manage your personal business, your DPOA can handle your essential personal financial, insurance, and other business interests. If you do not have a DPOA in place, your bank may not allow anyone to access your funds to pay your bills, insurance companies may refuse to talk to anyone but you, and your taxes may go unfiled.

What makes it “durable”? A durable power of attorney stays in effect even if you lose the mental capacity to revoke it. In contrast, a regular power of attorney becomes ineffective if you lose your mental capacity. Having a durable power of attorney anticipates that there is often a time between an incapacitating final illness or accident and a person’s death and avoids creating a gap in which there is no person who can handle your business.