All too often, it seems like the simplest solution to creating your estate plan is turning online to download paperwork. However, it is all too often the case that problems can arise with either a health care or durable financial power of attorney.
If these documents are not prepared or executed correctly and you lose the capacity to make these decisions, this still generates the need for court appointed help. In some cases, the power of attorney doesn’t exist or is not valid within the state.
Even when everyone within the family can agree on who should be appointed for this important role, a person for health care decisions and other important decisions may still need to be appointed by the probate court. This can add additional stress and time from family members and other individuals involved during a situation in which their focus should be on the family member who is incapacitated. In other cases, if a loved one disagrees with who should be appointed in the power of attorney agent role, this can become expensive and litigious.
In some cases, a probate judge may even have to go so far as to appoint a neutral third party who has no previous relationship with the individual who is therefore known as a ward. In any of these cases, the outcome of the guardianship situation is not in line with what the person who created the power of attorney wanted in the first place. This adds additional frustration and alters the family dynamics when people cannot agree or have to go through the additional pressure of figuring out who should be appointed in this role.
For more help in drafting your own power of attorney, contact an experienced lawyer in Massachusetts now.
