 | John Gibson
is a senior partner in the Wichita law firm of Gilliand & Hayes. He has been practicing law for nearly 30 years. In addition to healthcare law his practice includes wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and general representation of individuals and small business. Contact information: Phone:
316-264-7321; Fax: 316-264-8614; and e-mail: jgibson@boyerds.com |
Legal
2002-06-01 17:41:00
DPoA - AIF
Answer: You may designate another person to carry out your wishes and make decisions for you, in other words, act on your behalf. When you sign a document giving someone this power the writing is called a "Power of Attorney". You may decide, for example, that because you will be traveling for a long period or may suffer from an illness, you would prefer someone to make financial decisions for you while you are unavailable. You may also want someone to make medical decisions for you. The person you select for either or both will be your "attorney in fact". You may choose an attorney-in-fact to manage your business, vote your stock, manage your investments, sign your tax returns, deposit checks or write checks on your account, make retirement plan elections, end or continue contracts, sell or buy assets, and forward your mail. In creating this document, you decide what tasks the person should do. A Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions would give a person you select the power to make medical decisions for you. The power would allow the person to make choices in treatment, request second opinions, review your medical records and generally direct your medical care. This Power of Attorney can act together with any written directions you give in the form of a Living Will or Health Care Directive.A general Power of Attorney will end at your death or at any time a doctor finds you incompetent unless you specifically sign a durable power of attorney document. The durable power allows your attorney in fact to act even if you are mentally incompetent. Typically, the durable power will be designed to begin if your doctor ever certifies that you are unable to make decisions on your own behalf. The Durable Power of Attorney will take the place of a court proceeding known as a conservatorship in most cases. This will save the time and cost of the court proceeding and will allow your incompetency to remain private and not a matter of public record.I routinely recommend any adult, of any age, have a Durable Power of Attorney to begin if you should become incompetent and unable to make your own decisions. This can be a temporary time period, during a recovery from a serious accident for example. It may also be permanent, in the instance of an Alzheimer's patient perhaps. The reality is that you do not suspect you will need someone to act for you. It is important to plan ahead and appoint someone now to act if such a situation ever occurs. If you wait until the time a doctor declares you incompetent, without a durable power of attorney, it will be a court and not you who has the right to decide who will act on your behalf. If you have a living trust you may still need a Power of Attorney. Your living trust will give powers to your trustee that may include the power to act as your attorney in fact for health and financial decisions. In this case, it is best to look over your trust and see whether the things you might need someone to do on your behalf are covered. Often, medical decisions are not discussed in your trust. If not everything is covered, you may amend your trust or sign a separate Durable Power of Attorney.
