Powers of Attorney in Woburn

Creating Powers of Attorney to Protect Your Interests

Life can be unpredictable and sometimes unexpected events like a car accident or sudden illness can happen to us. Events like this might cause us to become incapacitated, no longer able to make decisions for ourselves. In these situations, a power of attorney (POA) can help. A power of attorney is a document in which you (the “principal”) authorize a person you trust (called an “attorney-in-fact” or “agent”) to act on your behalf.

With a power of attorney, you can choose an agent who can act on your behalf in private affairs, business, legal matters, and medical situations. Picking someone you trust is essential, as depending on what authority you give them, their acts on your behalf will impact your life. By working with a Massachusetts lawyer, you can ensure that your assets are in good hands.

If you’re considering assigning a power of attorney, speak to our legal team today. At The Heritage Law Center, we’re dedicated to providing estate planning tools to assist our clients with all their specific needs. To learn more about our services and how we can help you, contact our law firm by calling (617) 765-9307.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows another individual to make important decisions on your behalf. Typically, these decisions are primarily financial matters, but you can also assign a power of attorney to make medical decisions for you. There are many different kinds of powers of attorney, and you can choose one that restricts their POA duties or gives them full access to your accounts and assets.

Power of attorney documents are often included in estate plans. You never know when you might be in a situation when you’ll need someone to help you with your financial matters or to make medical decisions for you. Many aging individuals find that having another person to advocate for their financial matters helps them plan for the future and manage their assets. If you would like to know that you have a safety net in place to have someone you trust help you financially or medically when you need it, a power of attorney is a document you should get.

Giving someone power of attorney is an incredibly important decision. It’s essential that you understand the types of POAs and exactly what the agent can do with that authority. A person who signs a POA without fully understanding what it means can run into trouble in the future. The wording in a POA needs to be very specific, which is why it’s best to use a knowledgeable estate planning attorney.

What Are the Different Kinds of Powers of Attorney?

You can choose from multiple types of powers of attorney depending on your goals. Our estate planning attorney will help you choose the right power of attorney document to meet your needs.

The main kinds of powers of attorney you can choose from include:

Financial Power of Attorney

A financial power of attorney grants your attorney-in-fact the ability to make financial decisions on your behalf. They will be able to sign checks, deposit checks, file tax returns, and more. Your attorney-in-fact has a fiduciary responsibility to act only in your best interest.

There are several different types of financial powers of attorney, including:

• General power of attorney: A general power of attorney allows the attorney-in-fact to act on your behalf in all financial matters. This includes handling bank accounts, managing assets, selling property, and filing taxes. This type of power of attorney is used while you’re competent but just need some help with financial matters. This power ends when you die, become incapacitated, or if you revoke this power.
• Limited power of attorney: A limited power of attorney allows your attorney-in-fact to act on your behalf, but only in specific matters for a certain period of time. For instance, you could grant someone the power to make decisions about your retirement accounts for the next two years. This power ends when you die, become incapacitated, or if you revoke this power.
• Durable power of attorney: A durable power of attorney allows the attorney-in-fact to continue acting on your behalf if you become incapacitated or mentally incompetent. The agent’s powers can be limited or general. The durable power of attorney remains in effect until revocation or your death.
• Springing power of attorney: This is a type of durable POA. A springing power doesn’t become effective until you are incapacitated, thus it “springs” into action. The main reason to make a durable POA springing is to make sure the agent doesn’t act prematurely, before your incapacity. The springing POA often requires the attorney-in-fact to get documentation proving your incapacity before a bank or other such institution will honor it, and therefore has more red tape associated with it.

Health Care Power of Attorney

Your health is one of the most important areas of your life. A health care power of attorney, also known as a health care proxy, gives your agent the legal authority to make medical decisions on your behalf when you’re unable to do so. Without a health care proxy in place, your loved ones may have to go to court to have a guardian named in order to direct your health care treatment, a process that takes time and costs money. 

Can You Limit or Revoke a Power of Attorney?

Assigning a power of attorney is a huge step in your estate plan. As such, many individuals wonder about limiting their POA or revoking it in the future. There are a few different ways to limit your power of attorney, including assigning them a springing power of attorney or a limited power of attorney.

If you no longer wish to have a power of attorney, you can revoke the document at any time. You can notify your attorney-in-fact in writing that the power has been revoked, and ask your attorney-in-fact to return any copies of the power of attorney document to you. You can then send written notification of the revocation to any businesses or people who also have copies of the document.

How Can a Lawyer Help?

Giving someone you trust power over your medical or financial decisions is an excellent way to protect your wishes. Our estate planning lawyer will work with you to create your estate plan to meet your goals, including any powers of attorney documents you need. We will then create a legal document with your specific wishes noted.

The Heritage Law Center knows how important it is to create an estate plan to protect yourself, your assets, and your family. We’re committed to serving our clients and helping them prepare for the future. For more information, contact us today by calling (617) 765-9307.