What is a Powers of Attorney?
There are a variety of Powers
of Attorney that you can nominate, but the two main medical attorneys are a
medical power (also known as a conservator) and permanent powers of attorney.
As you might expect, the Medical Powers of Attorney empowers another person to
make decisions about your medical treatment if you are not physically or
mentally able to choose for yourself. The Enduring Powers of Attorney (POA), on
the other hand, gives a person the legal right to manage your financial affairs
when you are unable to do so.
Why Would I Need A Powers Of Attorney?
When you grow up, organizing a Powers Of Attorney is important when you lose the ability to make decisions
about your finances. If these were to happen and you have not legally appointed
someone to act on your behalf, both your financial matters and your personal
well-being may be affected.
Suppose you have money in a portfolio and have been advised
by a financial planner to make changes due to poor market performance. If you
are not able to act on that advice, the hands of your financial advisor are
tied, unless you have designated someone as a Powers Of Attorney. Or there may be a change in government policy
that affects your retirement savings and retirement income. As a planner,
making changes to how to invest or manage super is the only thing I can do on
the instructions of a client, or their authorized attorney.
A Powers Of Attorney
is not just for later stages in your life. Being in an accident that leaves you
unable to act on your own behalf can make you and your family financially weak
without having a POA in place. So if someone, young or old, is arranging their
willpower, then it makes sense to resolve a permanent power of attorney as
well. Your lawyer can increase this during a discussion about your will, and it
can be fairly straightforward to organize your POA at the same time.
If you expect to live or travel abroad for a time, POA is
also worth organizing. Managing your assets and finances remotely can be very
inconvenient, especially when the original signed documents are required.
Instead of interrupting your life when you travel to Australia with a phone
call, paperwork or even a plane ride, you can have your designated lawyer take
care of things.
Who Can Be My Powers Of Attorney?
First and foremost, your chosen lawyer should be the one on
whom you can work in your own interest. And it certainly helps if they have
some experience with a good knowledge of finance and your assets, so they can
fully understand the consequences and consequences of any decision or actions.
In many cases, lawyers are family members - parents, siblings, children or
grandchildren - as they are often those who know best how we will think or act
ourselves.
It is also possible to have many lawyers. Appointing both
your parents and more than one of your children as joint solicitors is
something that can work well because it allows many people who share
responsibility for managing your cases Care for you to do. Having different
family members can bring more expertise to complex and challenging problems or
decisions.
In case where family members do not have experience with
being your lawyer, or where relationships have broken down and there is a lack
of trust around money, a close friend may be asked to step in. But whatever you
choose, it is. They accept their role and understand what is involved. And if
you have a financial planner who is advising you on your matters, meeting them
with your attorney can pave the way for a smooth transition, if the time comes
when they need to take on that role.
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