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While you are planning for your future, one thing you should take into consideration is establishing a power of attorney in Charleston. Although you may be in perfectly good health now, you can’t predict the future. In the event of a serious illness that leaves you unable to make decisions about your care and finances, you want a person you can trust to do it for you. It is not enough for you to say that you want them to act in your place when you are unable too. You need to name them as your power of attorney so they have the legal capacity to act in your stead. Trustworthiness Because you are essentially trusting this person with managing your life, you should make every effort possible to choose someone who is trustworthy. Even if you feel you would be better off choosing a family member, you need to understand that family won’t always have your best interest at heart. Their feelings and other factors could cause them to make decisions that go against your wishes. You should choose a person who you know is going to follow any instructions you leave for them while you are unable to handle your affairs yourself. If you can’t think of a family member you can trust to serve as your power of attorney in Charleston, you may need to discuss your situation with an attorney for help. It Doesn’t Restrict Your Control Just because you decide to choose a power of attorney now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to have your say about what’s going on in your life now. When you’re creating your POA, make sure you specify that you want the POA to start only if you become incapable of making sound decisions for yourself. You can assign and restrict the responsibilities you want your POA to have. For example, if you want one person to handle your finances, you need to state that in your estate plans. If you want to designate another person to take care of your pets or your home, just put it in writing in your estate planning documents. If you forget to designate a power of attorney in Charleston and something happens where you are no longer of sound mental capacity, you could leave your loved ones in a bind. If they need to access your financial accounts to pay your bills while you are in the hospital, they won’t be able to do so because you did not give any of them the legal right to act as your representative. Remember, financial institutions will not give anyone who is not listed on your accounts access to them. Once you establish a POA, it makes it easier for them to access your accounts to handle your affairs until you are well enough to do so on your own. When it comes to estate planning, you can never be too careful. Take your time and research all of your options before you choose anyone to act as a power of attorney.
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