Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management

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Now, why would you ever need this piece of paper? You probably think, as many of us do, that you will always be able to manage your affairs. Sometimes things just don’t work out that way. So, just in case, you delegate the right to take care of your financial affairs to a third party, usually your spouse, and a successor in case the spouse is not able to act. Essentially, you delegate as much or as little power as you want. Typically, this includes the power to manage your finances, real property, investments, life insurance, government benefits and similar. In other words, this person can do the same things you could do yourself.

In case you wondered, “durable” means that it survives your incompetence, i.e., you’ve prepared it ahead of time, so that it can go into effect when needed. Remember that an incompetent person is not able to assign such powers. Typically, the power is made effective when created so that it is not necessary for a qualifying event, e.g., disability to occur for it to go into effect. Particular attention needs to be paid if the person giving the power may need to qualify for MediCal nursing home assistance.