What Is A Durable Power Of Attorney And When Do I Need One?

A durable power of attorney can be instated when a person loses the ability to make decisions and choices about how to live. When this occurs people associated with the person such as family must go to court to determine who will be the decision-maker in their place. Estate planning and probate attorney Kyle Robbins explains the rest about what is a durable power of attorney and why it may apply to you.

Video Transcript:

Hey, everyone, Kyle Robbins here with The Law Offices of Kyle Robbins.

So what’s a durable power of attorney and when do you need one? Well, short answer is everyone needs a durable power of attorney the day they turn 18. The reason is because that document allows you to say who you would want to control your finances in the event that you became mentally incapacitated and could not manage them anymore. So the simple example of you’re in an accident and you go into a coma for six months. Who’s gonna pay off your car payments, your mortgage payments, your credit card payments? Who’s gonna manage your assets? Technically, nobody can if you don’t have a durable power of attorney in place.

If you do have one, then you’ve decided who you would want to control it and the banks and other institutions will allow that person to manage your finances for your benefit until you are again able to take over, which, you know, sometimes is a few months, sometimes it’s never. And for my elderly clients, sometimes a child will need to take over and manage their finances until the end of their days. So everybody needs a durable power of attorney.