Power of Attorney

An Enduring Power of Attorney names a specific person to manage another individual’s property and financial affairs. Activities such as paying bills, accessing bank accounts, paying or cancelling credit cards, altering insurance policies, paying taxes, or even renting, leasing or selling property are included in a Power of Attorney.

An Enduring Power of Attorney only applies to financial and property decisions and not to personal or health related decisions. Further, an Enduring Power of Attorney is also different than a Will in that it becomes active before death.

Typically, an Enduring Power of Attorney will only be triggered if an individual is mentally unfit to make financial decisions. Whether someone is mentally unfit is determined by medical professionals.

At Lypkie Henderson we offer this document along with a Will and a Personal Directive as a core documents in a comprehensive estate plan. An Enduring Power of Attorney is a proactive way to not only protect yourself in the event of a tragedy but also your family. An Enduring Power of Attorney will save your family from having to retain a lawyer to get an Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Order which could take time and extra legal fees.

There also other types of Powers of Attorney. For example, you may still have mental capacity but may wish to create an immediate Power of Attorney to allow a relative to assist you in making financial decisions. Another common example is where you give an individual the power to sell a specific piece of property on your behalf. Lypkie Henderson can tailor a Power of Attorney to your unique needs.