What Is a Durable Power of Attorney?
What is the Durable Power of Attorney?
Paula K. Almgren, Esq.: In Massachusetts we have something called the Durable Power of Attorney for asset management. And what it is it's a document that says if I'm incapacitated -- durable means it survives incapacity -- this is who can take care of my bills and my insurance and deal with my mail and my safe deposit box. In Massachusetts, it's different than other states. You have to have the power actually stated within the four corners of the document or you cannot exercise it. So mine are very detailed. I think they're probably 20 pages long and I change them all the time. Because a lot of things happen, as you know in your own life, but imagine if someone's incapacitated. You need that power in that document or you're stopped, and then you have to go to court and have a conservator appointed. So I want a lot of things. As an estate planning attorney, I add unlimited gifting, self-dealing -- maybe I need to move the house from husband and wife to wife. Well, the wife has to have self-dealing in order to do that -- that power. So, it's really important when you're an estate planning attorney to also understand how some of these powers might impact elder law.
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