Your Power of Attorney is as Important as your Will

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What is a Power of Attorney and What can it do? 

A Power of Attorney ("POA") is a legal document which gives a person (your "Attorney") the authority to act on your behalf on legal and financial matters. A POA can be drafted for a specific task or it can be drafted more generally, therefore it is common for individuals to have multiple POAs as the circumstances require. For instance, a parent may have an POA appointing their child as their attorney for the purposes of assisting the parent to manage their affairs as they grow older. That parent may also have another POA appointing their spouse as their attorney for the purpose of signing authority for transferring land. It follows that a POA can have an "enduring" effect which lasts an individual's lifetime, or it can be limited in scope, made to accomplish a single task and then ceasing to exist. 

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Why Having an Enduring Power of Attorney is Important 

An Enduring POA is a simple, inexpensive and essential part of estate planning. While a will contains your instructions for your estate once you have passed away, it does not account for your wishes while you are alive, but are unable to manage your affairs due to mental or physical incapacity. The most essential aspect of your POA is the ability to designate someone you trust to manage your affairs on your behalf while you are still alive. Should you not have an Enduring POA, a member of your family will have to make a court application to be appointed as a "Comittee" to look after your affairs. This process is very costly, time-consuming, and can be unpredictable, especially where there are multiple applicants. 

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