Everyone over the age of 18 needs a Power of Attorney.  Should you be unable to make financial decisions for yourself, because of mental incapacity, geographic inconvenience, or many other reasons, it is important to have someone you trust appointed to make those decisions and transactions for you.  A financial Power of Attorney does not strip you of your powers to make decisions for yourself, it merely appoints another person to make the same decisions on your behalf.  There are many issues you should consider when preparing to execute a Power of Attorney:

- Who do I trust to handle important decisions for me?

- Is there a back-up person I want to appoint if my first choice is not willing or able to act for me?

- Do I want my Power of Attorney agent to be able to act at any time, or do I want them only to act if I am declared mentally incapacitated?

- Do I want my agent to be able to make gifts on my behalf?

There are no 'right' answers to these questions.  I walk clients through each of these decisions to make the best choices for each individual.