• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Potter Law Firm

North Carolina and Kentucky Estate Planning Attorneys

phone iconNC (704) 944-3245
KY (606) 324-5516
Attend A Free Seminar - KY Attend A Free Webinar - NC/SC THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
  • Practice Areas
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
    • Veterans Benefits
  • Communities We Serve
    • Kentucky
      • Boyd County
        • Ashland
        • Florence
      • Kenton County
        • Covington
        • Fort Mitchell
        • Independence
    • North Carolina
      • Mecklenburg County
        • Charlotte
        • Davidson
        • Huntersville
  • Resources
    • Definitions
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law Links
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Local Elder Law Resources
        • Ashland Elder Resources
        • Covington Senior Resources
        • Huntersville Elder Law Resources
        • Independence Senior Resources
    • Elder Law Reports
    • Emergency Legal Documents
    • Free Estate Planning Seminars
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Estate Planning
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid
      • Pet Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
    • Kentucky Probate Resources
      • Ashland, Kentucky Probate Resources
    • Newsletters
    • North Carolina Probate Resources
      • Huntersville, NC Probate Resources
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
Home » Estate Planning » Ethical Wills » How the Power of Attorney Protects Your Interests

How the Power of Attorney Protects Your Interests

May 22, 2017 by Gideon Law

When it comes to end-of-life and estate planning, you cannot afford to neglect incapacity planning. To safeguard your interests and ensure continuity of decision-making even during times of serious illness and injury, you need the durable power of attorney. When a loved one suffers a serious injury or illness, the family finds themselves in a stressful and anxious situation. That fear can be magnified dramatically when that loved one failed to create an incapacity plan to ensure that his medical and financial decisions are properly managed during his incapacitation. If you’ve created an estate plan but haven’t yet created a plan to protect yourself during incapacity, now’s the time. During such times, the power of attorney can be key to protecting your interests.

What is the Power of Attorney?

The power of attorney document is a powerful tool that can be used to ensure that there’s always someone with the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose the ability to make those decisions yourself. With the power of attorney, you can designate another person to represent your interests, naming them to serve as your attorney-in-fact. That person is provided with specific or general authority, depending upon the terms of the document you create.

Where incapacity plans are concerned, you should focus on creating the durable power of attorney. A durable POA differs from most general powers of attorney, in that it doesn’t expire when you become incapacitated. The durable power of attorney typically goes into effect when created, and lasts until you are deceased.

Why Do You Need Power of Attorney?

Incapacitated persons who lack basic incapacity planning will have no one to make financial or medical decisions for them once they are found to be legally incompetent. That will leave no one there to sign checks, make bill payments, manage assets, or even make treatment decisions. Contrary to popular belief, even close family members lack the power to just step in and make those decisions.

As a result, that person’s family has no choice other than to seek guardianship through the probate court. That requires them to petition the court, seeking the court’s authorization to serve as the incapacitated loved one’s legal representative. This can be a costly and agonizing process, as the court needs to investigate the case, have the patient examined, and hear testimony from everyone involved, adding to the normal stress of dealing with a sick or injured loved one.

There are also negative consequences associated with guardianship. The court may not even choose a family member to be the guardian. While this is not a common occurrence in most places, it is a distinct possibility – especially in instances where family members disagree about treatment options, financial concerns, and other important issues. That can be problematic since guardianships are expensive even without the guardian’s fees. Court costs, attorney’s expenses, and other fees can add up in a hurry, and all those expenses are charged to the patient’s estate.

Power of Attorney for Finances

The durable power of attorney for finances allows you to name your agent and provide him or her with the necessary authority to represent your interests and make financial decisions on your behalf. You can use the document terms to detail the exact parameters of that power to ensure that the potential for abuse or mistakes is minimized as much as possible. Your agent can do everything from managing your financial assets to buying and selling property. Alternatively, you can limit that power to just a few select and vital financial tasks.

Power of Attorney for Health Care

The power of attorney for health care isn’t always referred to by that name any more, as many states now use the broader term advance directives. Most advance directives have a component that operates in much the same way. With a medical power of attorney, you can designate someone to serve as your healthcare proxy, with all the power needed to make important medical treatment decisions when you can’t make them on your own.

Along with the medical power of attorney, many advance directives also contain a living will. This document provides critical information to let health care providers know about the type of life-prolonging treatment that you are willing to pursue. The living will can help your proxy to avoid any disputes with family members whose opinions on treatment might be at odds with your own.

Your estate planning should include incapacity planning as well to ensure that your assets and interests are protected even when you can no longer protect them yourself. At the Potter Law Firm, our incapacity planning professionals can help to ensure that you have the power of attorney documents you need to complete your personal estate planning effort. To learn how we can help you protect your interests and loved ones, contact us online or call us today at  (704) 944-3245 (Charlotte, NC), (606) 324-5516 (Ashland, KY), or (859) 372-6655 (Florence, KY).

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Gideon Law
Latest posts by Gideon Law (see all)
  • What Are Trusts and Why Do You Need Them? - June 14, 2018
  • Why You Need an Attorney to Create a Will the Right Way - June 12, 2018
  • North Carolina Estate Tax: Should You Be Concerned? - July 5, 2017

Filed Under: Estate Planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

How to Gift to Your Grandchildren in Your Estate Plan
pour-over will
What Happens If I Leave Property Out of My Living Trust?
estate tax
2022 Estate Tax Exclusion Has Been Set
QTIP trust
How Can You Protect Your Children’s Inheritances If You Get Remarried?
probate
Are There Any Probate Shortcuts in North Carolina?
life estate
What Is the Purpose of a Life Estate?

Free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.

Texting Permission

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Our Blog

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

default image

Overall The Potter Firm was very professional. They took what could of been a very complicated process and were able to break it down so it was a lot easier to understand. We are confident we now have made the right decisions in our estate planning. Good firm to work with.

DKS & KMS Client Review August 28, 2020

default image

John Potter has been a real pleasure to work with. He is very knowledgeable and explains things in a very simplistic manner so the average person can understand how/why the laws are written. He is very attentive and asks questions in such a way that not only helps him understand your goals, but also helps you think about what type of goals and expectations you should be considering. Exemplary client service.

David J. Client Review August 28, 2020

default image

My husband and I selected Ms. Potter to assist with our small business. She responsive and attentive every time I have a question or need assistance, and is extremely knowledgeable and able to answer any legal question I have had. I know I can count on Ms. Potter for all of my business legal needs and I would highly recommend her to anyone needing legal assistance with such.

Jillian Client Review August 28, 2020

<< Prev
Next >>

Where We Are

Ashland

ASHLAND
1620 Carter Avenue
Ashland, KY 41101-7631
Phone: (606) 324-5516
Fax: (606) 324-4766

Charlotte

CHARLOTTE
15720 Brixham Hill Avenue
Suite 300,
Charlotte, NC 28277
Phone: (704) 944-3245

Huntersville

HUNTERSVILLE
11330 Vanstory Drive
Huntersville, NC 28078
Phone: (704) 944-3245

Northern Kentucky

NORTHERN KENTUCKY
7310 Turfway Road
Suite 550,
Florence, KY 41042
Phone: (859) 372-6655

Office Hours

Monday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday8:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Map/Location

potter_sidbr_map
potter law logo
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT