A power of attorney
Not many consider who they trust to manage their personal and economic relations if they face critical illness or if a severe accident occurs.
If you get sick or are involved in an accident, it does not just affect you, it also affects your relatives. In such a situation your relatives can end up in a very unfortunate situation as they do not have the authorization to act on your behalf. Many challenges can occur due to this. For example, your relatives will not be able to get the access or authority to pay your bills or to act on your behalf regarding your business or your property.
A power of attorney is a legal formula and a voluntary alternative to a guardianship.
With a power of attorney, you are actively making a choice as to whom you believe will be able to manage your personal and economic relations on your behalf if you are not able to. A power of attorney is an individual document; hence, it is possible for you to decide what subjects it should contain.
Giving power of attorney to another person demands a great amount of trust. Thus, it is important that you choose a person who you trust, and who knows you well – it could for example be your significant other. The chosen attorney-in-fact can simply only make decisions based upon what he or she thinks you would want.
As it can take several years from the creation of the power of attorney until it becomes effective, it is worth considering choosing a person younger than yourself. Alternatively, you can choose your significant other as the primary attorney-in-fact and your child/children as the subsidiary attorney(s)-in-fact.
TVC Law Firm strongly recommend that you counsel with a lawyer when considering the establishment of a power of attorney. We will go through your options, needs as well as desires to secure that your power of attorney reflects your situation and demands.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to book a non-committal conversation about your possibilities.
