The Durable Power of Attorney is yet another legal document which can be provided by an estate planning attorney. Although similar to the Limited Power of Attorney, there is one major difference.

The Limited Power of Attorney authorizes another person to act on your behalf for your benefit. This document allows an individual of your choosing to help accomplish tasks, assignments, or transactions in line with a specific purpose.

For example, the individual might make bank deposits, withdraws, write checks, sign tax returns, enter into contracts, or even run your business.

Why is this necessary?

Let’s say you own a home in another state and you wish to sell it. Instead of traveling out of state, you can have someone else fill out the necessary paper work on your behalf. Once the assigned task is completed, the person loses their ability to act as your agent.

That is where the Durable Power of attorney differs. Where the Limited Power of Attorney loses effectively with the completion of a task, the Durable Power of Attorney remains valid until the client dies.

Why in the world would you want that?

Using a different scenario, let’s say someone ran and owned a small business. That person becomes ill and fears relapsing, or even worst, becoming incapacitated. The business owner might wish to have a Durable Power of Attorney. That way, the business owner’s agent can run the business. If the owner improves, he or she can go back to work knowing if things decline, their agent is able to step back in to running the business without conflict or the necessity of court intervention.

Both the Limited Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney are valuable legal documents, which could be of great benefit to the right person in the right situation. If you find yourself in need of either one, or if you want more information, please consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Perhaps you are aware Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States, freed the slaves, worked as a lawyer, wrestler, rail splitter, and poet. But did you know this lawyer turned United States President died intestate, which is to say without a Will or Estate Plan?

Lucky for Lincoln and his family, his political ties provided him some clout and a chance to rub shoulders with some pretty influential people. As it turned out, one of those people was Supreme Court Judge and family friend Justice David Davis.

At the urging of Lincoln’s family, Davis asked to be and was appointed the administrator of Lincoln’s estate.

Lincoln died in April of 1865. His estate settled November of 1867.

The estate which was worth more than $110,000 went to Probate court. The amount of $38.31 was deducted and given to creditors. The rest of the money was split in equal thirds with one third given to his wife, and the remaining two thirds divided between his two children.

Economists believe the lawyer’s fees and expenses owed to Justice Davis equaled $6,600. However, Davis refused the money.

Here is the rub.

Even with their influence, Abraham Lincoln’s family had to wait 19 months before receiving their inheritance.

To put this in perspective, that is over a year and a half of having to pay bills, mortgages, rents, taxes and additional taxes on property and or assets inherited but not yet received, all while waiting for an inheritance.

Luckily, the Lincoln’s were well connected and persevered.

As twenty sixth President Theodore Roosevelt would have undoubtedly said, if you can find a Supreme Court Judge willing to administrate your probate and waive his fees, “bully for you!” Otherwise, you might want to consider getting an Estate Plan.

You walk into the Streeter Law Group office. You meet attorney Debbie Streeter. She answers your questions and informs you of current estate planning laws, speaking with you (not at you), in a language you understand. You feel great about the process, the attorney, the staff, and the experience as a whole. You decide to work with her (us), and we draft a plan that fits your individual needs.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. You are sitting again in our office. We present you with a nice stylized binder. Your estate plan is inside. A proverbial weight has been lifted.

You stand to leave. You pick up the binder. Now a new question crosses your mind … where do I put this thing?

The question of storage is one frequently asked. So, what do you do with those original signed documents anyway?

The simple answer is to put them someplace safe and accessible, with key emphasis on the word accessible.

Some clients choose to store their plans in safe deposit boxes or home safes. Both are smart choices. However, whatever you choose, make certain you aren’t the sole person granted access to open the box, knowing where the key is, or having the combination. Otherwise, your plan might get lost, and if no one can retrieve your plan, it is as good as useless.

Many clients prefer copying their plans, as to provide copies to those who will benefit most or be in the greatest need of a copy later. Tech savvy clients have been known to scan the information and store it on a flash drive. In either case, the challenge is if you make changes to your plan down the road, you must make certain those previous copies are destroyed.

However, if you as a client do misplace or lose your plan, you should contact your estate planning attorney immediately. In most cases (if the attorney or firm is still in practice), they might have a copy. At the same time, they might not, so one shouldn’t rely on this method solely as substitute to safeguarding your estate plan.

The lesson here is simple. Keep your plan accessible. Make certain those you love (at least those you’ve chosen as successor trustee), can get a hold of your plan should they need it. If all else fails, have someone contact your attorney’s office.

It wasn’t long ago we received a call from the adult daughter of a client. Our client was days from surgery and understandably, her daughter was nervous. The client had given her daughter her estate plan “just in case.” She also reminded her daughter she was named as the agent, meaning it was the daughter’s responsibility to make decisions should anything go wrong during surgery.

Having been reminded of this provision, the daughter skimmed the estate plan. She admittedly didn’t know which document held this information and was unable to find the language (found in the Advance Health Care Directive), which prompted her call. The daughter was hoping we would steer her in the right direction. – And so we did.

As it turns out, the surgery went well, the directive wasn’t needed and the client recovered.

Here is the point …

We have spent a lot of time writing about Wills and Trusts, but they aren’t the only documents needed for a complete estate plan. Another which can be of great significance and use is the Advance Health Care Directive.

If you have an estate plan or have ever met with an estate planning attorney, then you are probably aware of the Advance Health Care Directive (commonly referred to as a Living Will).

In a nut shell, the Advance Health Care Directive is a legal document which per your request, lets your doctor, family and friends know your individual health care preferences. This includes the types of special treatment you might want (diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, etc.) or treatments you might not want at the end of life.

It allows you to name an agent you wish to make health care decisions on your behalf (like the daughter from our illustration), should you become incapacitated, or simply do not want to make those decisions yourself.

In short, it provides comfort and some semblance of control when you are most vulnerable.

If you would like to learn more about the Advance Health Care Directive or other estate planning documents, please schedule and appointment with an estate planning attorney.