How Do a Last Will and Power of Attorney Work Together?

A last will and power of attorney are effective and important documentation that provide you with contentment and safeguard your family.

A last will and power of attorney are important aspects of just about any estate plan. With one another these documents are able provide a lot of safeguards when planning for the future.

Table of Contents

What Is a Last Will and Testament?

A last will and testament is paperwork that enables you to choose who is going to inherit your assets following your passing. Being the testator, you decide who your heirs are going to be and what they are each going receive.

You will also appoint an executor, that is going to be responsible for distributing your assets according to your wishes. A last will can also be used to appoint a guardian for any minor child(ren). Last wills are also required to be signed in the presence of witnesses, preferable along with a notary.

What Is a Power of Attorney?

A POA is legal paperwork that authorizes someone other than you (referred to as attorney in fact) for making business, legal, and financial decisions for you. Should you become unable to oversee your own affairs, the individual you choose is going to be able to take care of them on your behalf. The attorney in fact is going to be able to pay your bills, carry out repairs to your home, sell your vehicle, manage your business, and more.

When you don’t have a POA, court proceedings are necessary to prove that you are not mentally sound and then have a guardian named on your behalf.

If you carry out a power of attorney, you can decide on the individual you prefer and there is no delay from the time you need them to handle your affairs and the time they are able do so.

Every state has their own power of attorney forms. The documentation is required to be signed and notarized in many states for it to be valid.

Kinds of Powers of Attorney

Whereas all powers of attorney serve the same purpose of giving an individual authority to act on your behalf. There are a couple types of power of attorney:

Durable; is applicable from the date it is carried out. If you sign it right now, your daughter can manage your financial institution account the next day without any further approval. It doesn’t matter if you are of mental state or not.
Springing; is carried out but won’t go into effect until the happening of some incident, usually the debilitation of the individual devising the form. If you create a springing POA right now, your daughter is inaccessible to your financial affairs until you cannot do so yourself. Typically, a general practitioner’s letter or documentation is required to carry out this kind of POA.

It is also possible to decide on and choose what control your power of attorney is going to give to your attorney in fact. Many states have checkboxes you can mark off so you can decide on particular kinds of control to give. A financial power of attorney could give your daughter only the right to handle your financial affairs. Like bill paying, but not the authority to do things like sell your property.

Hand In Hand – Last Will and Power of Attorney

It is always suggested that you create your will and power of attorney as collective paperwork. The power of attorney offers safeguarding throughout your lifetime, whereas your will offers safeguarding following your passing. With each other they offer an ongoing support of safeguarding for your assets.

Source:

Sember, B. (2021, October 1). How do a last will and power of attorney work together? LegalZoom. Retrieved January 14, 2022, from https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-do-a-last-will-and-power-of-attorney-work-together

Choose the Right Attorney in Arizona

Regardless of the choice you make, it’s important you make the best choice for you when hiring an attorney. Remember: The decisions you make now can affect your future. Ultimately, choosing the best lawyer will depend on which lawyer feels best for you and your situation.

If you want to learn about Michelle N. Ogborne and see if she is the right attorney to represent you in your collaborative divorce in Arizona, contact us today!