In a long-term care crisis?
In a long-term care crisis?
What happens to your finances if illness, injury, or dementia leaves you unable to manage them yourself? A Pennsylvania power of attorney lets you decide the answer in advance, rather than leaving your family to petition a court for guardianship.
A power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone you designate — your “agent” — broad authority to handle your property and financial affairs. Depending on how it’s drafted, that authority can include managing bank accounts, paying bills, handling real estate, and even selling or otherwise disposing of property, without needing advance notice to you or your approval for each transaction.
Importantly, a power of attorney doesn’t obligate your agent to act. But when your agent does exercise these powers, Pennsylvania law requires them to use due care and act in your best interest, consistent with what your document authorizes.
Your agent may exercise the powers you’ve granted throughout your lifetime, starting whenever you specify — immediately, or only after you become incapacitated (called a “springing” power of attorney). That authority continues until one of the following happens:
A power of attorney is a powerful planning tool — but in the wrong hands, it can also be dangerous. Choosing the right agent, and drafting the document carefully, matters a great deal.
Having a power of attorney is at least as important as having a will. As lifespans have increased, more people spend years of their lives with a weakened ability to manage their own affairs and need to rely on someone else. Without a valid power of attorney in place, your family may be forced into a costly and time-consuming guardianship proceeding just to get legal authority to manage your finances — authority you could have granted in advance with the right document.
Pennsylvania’s power of attorney statute has been updated over the years to add safeguards for principals and clarify agents’ duties — including notice requirements, acknowledgment provisions, and rules governing how financial institutions and other third parties must honor a valid power of attorney. Because the law continues to evolve, it’s worth having your document reviewed periodically to make sure it still reflects current requirements and still serves your goals.
At Sechler Law Firm, we advise our Pennsylvania clients on what form of power of attorney best fits their needs and their family’s needs. We take care to draft a document that suits your specific circumstances and wishes, and we work with you to help ensure it’s properly implemented — including making sure banks and other institutions will actually honor it when the time comes.
Contact Sechler Law Firm today to discuss adding a power of attorney to your Pennsylvania estate plan.
