A power of attorney is a legal device that you would use to empower an agent or attorney-in-fact to act on your behalf in a legally binding manner. There are various different reasons why you may want to grant this power, but a specific type of power of attorney is used to account for incapacity.
We specialize in estate planning and elder law matters, and incapacity planning is an important part of the equation. People often become unable to make sound decisions on their own at some point in time. There are various different causes of incapacity as we all know, but Alzheimer’s disease alone is enough to get your attention.
This disease strikes around 45 percent of people who have reached the age of 85, and people with Alzheimer’s induced dementia often become unable to handle their own affairs.
If you do nothing to prepare for incapacity, and you become unable to handle your own decision-making, the state could step in and appoint a guardian to act as your representative. You can prevent a guardianship and take the matter into her own hands if you execute durable powers of attorney.
A power of attorney that is not durable would no longer be effective if the grantor was to become incapacitated, but a durable power of attorney does remain in effect upon the incapacitation of the grantor.
For health care decision-making, you could execute a durable power of attorney for health care or health care proxy. A durable financial power of attorney can be added to name a financial representative. You do not have to use the same person to act as your agent in both documents.
You can have the powers go into effect immediately, but there is another option. It is possible to create a springing durable power of attorney. This power of attorney would only go into effect if you were to become incapacitated.
When you have durable powers of attorney in place, you can be certain that hand-picked decision-makers will be empowered to act on your behalf if it ever becomes necessary.
Free Report on End-of-Life Planning
We have a valuable resource that you can access through this website if you would like to obtain more detailed information about end-of-life planning. Our firm has prepared an in-depth special report on the subject, and you can get your copy free of charge.
To obtain your copy of the special report, visit this page and follow the simple instructions: End-of-Life Planning Report.
Take the Next Step
If you would like to discuss incapacity planning with a licensed professional, our firm can help. We offer free consultations, and you can send us a message through this page to set up an appointment: Indianapolis IN Estate Planning Attorneys.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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