Hand-in-Hand Teaching Guide to key in Durable Power Of Attorney Form
Durable Power Of Attorney Form Demand Assistance
.Hi..This is Lee Phillips..I want to talk about.durable powers of attorney.for two seconds..It's one of what I consider.the four things that you.need in estate planning..You need the will, the.living revocable trust,.the durable power of.attorney, and the living will..The durable power of.attorney handles your matters.when you can't.function for yourself..You become incompetent..And actually, statistically,.you are, like, five times more.likely to be.incompetent next week.than you are to.be dead next week..And dealing with an.incompetent person's property.is actually harder than dealing.with a dead person's property..So the family needs to have.the assurance that you have.what we call a durable.power of attorney..Now, the power of.attorney is a document.that allows somebody.else to stand in and then.represent you in this matter..I remember when my uncle.went to the Korean War..He had a pink convertible.Thunderbird, which we still.had, and he gave grandpa.a power of attorney.to sell the Thunderbird after.he went into the military..I remember that..I was only, like,.five or six years old,.but I still remember that..And grandpa sold.for Thunderbird..I liked the Thunderbird..I could ride around with.my uncle with the top down..It was kind of fun..That's a power of attorney..In the 80s, we decided, well,.yeah, powers of attorney.are good, but the problem.with the power of attorney.is as soon as the individual.becomes incompetent or dies,.it's gone..So if my uncle had.been shot, wounded,.been unable to manage his own.affairs, the power of attorney.he gave grandpa.would have been gone..Well, that's nuts..The reason we need.the power of attorney.is when the guy can't.handle things on his own..So they created--.and each state has.passed laws which allow.us to have what are called.durable powers of attorney..The Canadians call it an.enduring power of attorney..It endures..It goes past the point where the.individual becomes incompetent..It's durable past that point..And what it does is it allows.an individual-- the agent,.we call them, to come in and.manage that person's assets,.their business affairs,.whatever the power of attorney.says they can manage when the.person becomes in conflict..Now your durable.power of attorney.needs a provision in it.that says how you're going.to be declared incompetent..Often, it's two doctors.sign a statement..In a lot of my.powers of attorney,.I have two doctors and each.one of the kids and the spouse,.if they're available, to.sign the statement that says,.yeah, dad's out of it..And at that point,.the agent kicks in,.and can manage all.of the affairs..If the document is silent on.how we determine incompetency,.then we have to go to court..We have to get somebody.named as the agent, somebody.named as the guardian,.conservator for the individual..And that's what we want to avoid.with the power of attorney--.the durable power of attorney..So make sure that your document.has that trigger point in it..And then it will describe--.it'll go on for pages..Some of them are.40, 50 pages long..The agent can do this..The agent can do this..The agent can do this..We need to specifically.set out what.the agent can do for the.principle, the guy who.made the power of attorney..But it's a critical part.to your estate plan today..In fact, the rest homes and.the hospitals-- a lot of them.won't even let you in.the door until you have.your durable power of attorney...