Ensuring you have a valid, up-to-date Power of Attorney for Property (POA PPY) is an important part of your estate planning. In a POA PPY, you, the ‘grantor’, name someone as your ‘Attorney’ or ‘substitute decision-maker’ who will make decisions for you if you are unable to do so.
You can name one or more people or a trust company to act on your behalf. With the document in hand, they can deal with your property and financial affairs. Depending upon the wording of the POA PPY document, it may used when you are unable to manage your financial affairs due to mental incapacity or it may be drafted to allow its use even if you are mentally fine but physically unable to be present perhaps due to an injury that does not affect your mental health or being away on a trip. Once properly signed, a POA PPY remains effective while you are alive or until you revoke (cancel) it in writing. Unless the document includes a condition that requires you to be mentally incapable before it is effective, a POA PPY can be used as soon as it is signed. If a POA PPY is ‘continuing’, it will continue to be effective even if you later become mentally incapable.
When considering who to name as your POA PPY, look for someone who is organized, trustworthy, conscientious, and financially astute. Many people choose a trusted family member or friend while others choose their lawyer or a trust company as the attorney for property.
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Blog posts pre-dated December 1, 2015 were originally published under Neff Law Office Professional Corporation.
