What is a California Durable Power of Attorney?
A California Durable Power of Attorney is a document that authorizes your agent (a person of your choosing) to manage your financial affairs if you become unable or unwilling to manage them.
This is similar to a healthcare power of attorney, however it is limited to financial decisions and does not have any control over health care decisions.
Selecting your California Durable Power of Attorney Agent After signing a general power of attorney, you thereby authorize someone to manage financial matters on your behalf in the event that you are unable or unwilling to do so. Due to the magnitude of responsibility, one should heavily consider the person being entrusted. You need to pick someone who is trustworthy, someone who will act in a Fiduciary Capacity, in your best interests. While most people use financial managers, you may want to choose someone who can handle the responsibility of overseeing the assets you’ve accumulated during your life. It may take years of wisdom and making mistakes to fully understand what your estate represents to you and your beneficiaries. Avoiding probate may be one of your goals so, remember to look at the estate plan list: 1.Create a Will , 2.Create a Trust, 3.Financial POA, 4.Healthcare POA, 5.HIPPA documents, 6.Discuss Inheritance for children and grandchildren, 7.Complete Beneficiary forms, a.Be certain to check and update all of your insurance, ibonds, and investment vehicles, 8.Make allocations for funeral expenses or similar arrangements, 9.If there is a business, prepare a succession plan, 10.Organize documents, a.It is often helpful to scan your complete trust and email it to yourself 11.Look at property titles, liens, etc. 12.Make sure that your family/beneficiaries are aware of the Trust location, as well as those who helped to prepare it, 13.Make a record of monies you owe to others and of that owed to you, a.Will those monies be forgiven? 14.Have you FUNDED your TRUST?
Power of Attorney vs. a Durable Power of Attorney By law, a power of attorney (POA) ceases to be valid when the concerned individual is incapacitated. However, in most cases, this law nullifies the purpose of having a power of attorney in place and for the same reason, the POA must be explicitly stated as “durable”. A durable power of attorney remains in effect even after you are mentally incapable of making your own healthcare or financial decision. We generally recommend having both a durable power of attorney for health care and a durable financial power of attorney to ensure optimal management of your health as well as your assets.