Richland Power Of Attorney Lawyers
Power of Attorney Lawyers Serving Richland, WA
What happens to you and your estate if you become incapacitated in the Tri-Cities area? Without a Power Of Attorney, the answer is that the state will step in and manage your affairs. Someone you don’t even know or trust could wind up in charge, managing your affairs, creating expenses for your estate to pay and angst and upset for family. Similarly, you want to know that your medical wishes (particularly those regarding end-of-life care) are clear if you can’t communicate and that someone you can depend on will carry out those wishes.
At ELG Estate Planning, we believe in empowering people’s futures, one estate plan at a time. Living documents, especially Durable Powers of Attorney are the best way to protect you from the state’s involvement in your affairs. ELG Estate Planning can draft for you a comprehensive Power Of Attorney document that meets Washington state’s legal requirements and grants authority to someone you trust to make sure your affairs will be taken care of even if you can’t do so yourself due to incapacity. As your life and circumstances change, we can help revise your Power Of Attorney documents or prepare new ones to accommodate these changes. Call now or complete our contact form for a confidential consultation.
What Is a Power of Attorney?
A Power Of Attorney is a legal document that lets you name someone to manage your medical, legal, or financial affairs. Your Power Of Attorney document should be “durable”. That way, if you become incapacitated or lose your ability to communicate, the person you name in the Power Of Attorney—known as your agent or attorney-in-fact—has the legal authority to make these crucial decisions for you.
The authority you give someone through a Power Of Attorney depends on your wishes. Your agent can have broad powers over your affairs, or you can limit their authority to specific tasks. You also can include specific terms regarding when a Power Of Attorney takes effect or let your agent take over your affairs immediately after you become incapacitated.
Why You Need a Power of Attorney in Richland
There are two key reasons to include a Power Of Attorney in your Richland estate plan. First, you want to know that someone can manage your affairs, pay your bills, and honor your healthcare preferences if you become incapacitated. Without a Durable Power Of Attorney, the state takes over your affairs. This legal process, called a guardianship/conservatorship is public, expensive and time-consuming, and an unfortunate result where the incapacitated person did not have a Durable Power Of Attorney.
Second, you want to know that someone you trust and who will respect your wishes has the authority to make critical decisions for you. This is true not just as to your financial affairs, but particularly important with regard to your healthcare wishes and things like do not resuscitate orders (DNRs). Whatever your healthcare preferences are, your health care agent can be your voice to make the healthcare decisions for you that you would make. A Power Of Attorney for healthcare works in tandem with an Advance Healthcare Directive to provide clear, legally enforceable instructions regarding your healthcare preferences and who will carry out your wishes.
What Are the Rules for Powers of Attorney in Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco?
Washington state law includes clear rules for creating a valid Power Of Attorney, regardless of what aspects of your life the document covers. First, the principal (the person granting authority to their chosen agent) must sign and date the document in the presence of a notary. Alternatively, a notary isn’t necessary if there are two witnesses who meet specific requirements. Neither witness can be the agent, and they can’t be related to the agent by blood, marriage, or a domestic partnership. The witnesses also cannot be home care providers for the principal or staff at a long-term care facility where the principal lives. Finally, the witnesses must sign the Power Of Attorney in the principal’s presence and at the principal’s request.
If the principal cannot sign their name due to injury or illness, they can leave a mark on the Power Of Attorney instead of a signature. This mark must meet Washington’s legal requirements. There are also additional rules for cases where the principal cannot make any physical mark due to injury or illness.
Once the principal signs or marks a Power Of Attorney, the courts assume the signature is authentic if the document is properly acknowledged by a notary or other official with the authority to take legal acknowledgments. It’s possible to challenge a Power Of Attorney, but doing so requires compelling evidence and support from an experienced attorney.
Different Types of Powers of Attorney
A Single Power Of Attorney document can cover many areas of your life, but often two Power Of Attorney documents are preferable, one to address financial matters and the other to cover healthcare decisions.
- Durable Power Of Attorney – A Durable Power Of Attorney is any document that remains in effect after you become incapacitated. Your agent’s authority from a Durable Power Of Attorney lasts until you revoke it or die.
- Financial Power Of Attorney – A Financial Power Of Attorney grants authority to a trusted person to manage your finances on your behalf when you are unable to do so. Your agent can pay your bills, file taxes, make investments on your behalf, collect government benefits, and so on. How much authority your agent has depends on your preferences and the language of your Power Of Attorney.
- Medical Power Of Attorney – A Medical Power Of Attorney gives someone the authority to make medical decisions for you if you can’t communicate or are incapacitated. You can give your agent broad powers over your medical care. It’s a good idea to also have an Advance Healthcare Directive to make sure your agent follows your specific wishes.
- Effective date: Immediate versus “Springing” – A Durable Power Of Attorney can be effective immediately upon signing or be delayed or “springing” coming into effect only after your doctor certifies that you are incapacitated.
- Special or Limited Power Of Attorney – A Special or Limited Power Of Attorney focuses on a specific aspect of your life or gives your agent limited choices regarding your affairs. For example, you could draft a Special Power Of Attorney to authorize someone to sign a legal document if you are not available to do so.
Modifying a Power of Attorney in Richland
Modifying or revoking a Power Of Attorney while you’re alive and in good faith is easy. You can tear up the old document or revise its language with help from a capable lawyer. However, modifying a Power Of Attorney once you’re incapacitated is not an option. Therefore, it’s crucial to make sure you have good, effective durable powers of attorney in place in the event of future incapacity.
Contact Our Richland Power of Attorneys Lawyers Serving the Tri-Cities
Don’t risk the possibility of a court-ordered guardianship, or having an inadequate Power Of Attorney document. Call ELG Estate Planning now or complete our contact form for a confidential consultation.