Using Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directives Correctly
In recent years, powers of attorney and living wills have come to be recognized as essential components of an estate plan. At the same time, they don't always work the way you expect them to, and knowledgeable estate planning lawyers can show you how to use other instruments for additional certainty in a time of need. For a free consultation about powers of attorney and living wills in Utah, contact Alder & Robb, P.C., in Salt Lake City.
CALL 801-463-2600 TO LEARN ABOUT POWERS OF ATTORNEYUntil recently, most estate plans granted two kinds of power of attorney: one addressing financial matters, and the other devoted to health care and daily living. Today in Utah, only the financial power of attorney is necessary, and the advance health care directive (or living will) takes care of the other matters.
The financial power of attorney designates a person you trust to act on your behalf during a period of incapacity, when you can't take care of your own banking, bill payments or investments. The power of attorney can prevent the need for a conservator if for any reason you become unable to manage your own finances.
Sometimes people run into problems getting a valid power of attorney honored. For example, a bank might refuse to recognize a person's authority to act under a power of attorney if it was not recently granted. Our law firm knows how to work around this problem through the additional designation of the person as an incapacity trustee under a revocable living trust.
People should also plan for the designation of trusted surrogates to make important decisions about health care, surgical procedures, informed consent releases or life support. The advance health care directive document allows you to name someone to act on your behalf on essential medical decisions. It can also allow you to contract through an agent for in-home living assistance, nursing care or other services that would otherwise need to be arranged by a court-appointed guardian.
Sound Advice About Utah Living Wills and Powers of Attorney
If you have an estate plan in place that makes provision for a financial power of attorney and a designated agent under an advance directive to health care providers, it's a good idea to review those documents from time to time to make sure that the people you have named are still in a position to act in your best interests during a period when you might not be able to yourself.
For additional information about our approach to client service in developing or updating your estate plan, contact a lawyer at Alder & Robb in Salt Lake City for a free consultation.
