Clients with updated powers of attorney always makes us cheer because having these documents when someone has a stroke or gets in a car accident avoids the unnecessary stress of a guardianship proceeding.
Why are guardianships stressful?
Guardianships involve the court and can be costly and burdensome to family and friends who are already experiencing a stressful situation.
Also, with any nursing home issues, having the correct gifting provisions in your financial power of attorney can be essential to long term care planning and to the protection of the healthy spouse.
Please note that if your documents haven’t been updated in the last 5 years, they should be reviewed by your estate planning attorney to determine whether updating them is necessary. It should also be noted that some financial institutions are not accepting old documents.
