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Planning Ahead: Part Three

Dunn & Hemphill, PA • December 2, 2020

Planning Ahead Part 3: The Durable Power of Attorney

In Part 2 of “Planning Ahead,” we talked about the last will and testament and ways to avoid probating it at your death. Here, we dive into the estate planning tool that allows someone you trust to help you manage your affairs during your life: the general durable power of attorney.
A general durable power of attorney (POA) gives broad powers to your agent because you cannot know now exactly what they might need to do on your behalf. For this reason, you should only name an agent who you trust completely. Ask yourself: "If I became totally incapacitated today, are there decisions that would need to be made, documents that would need to be signed, and actions that would need to be taken on my behalf? Is there someone who I trust to do these things for me?" If the answer to both questions is yes, you could benefit from making a durable POA part of your estate plan.
Using a general durable POA, you can designate a trusted family member or friend to be your agent (also called “attorney-in-fact”) and empower your agent to do nearly anything that you could do yourself. A POA is “durable” when it continues to be effective even after you become incompetent. We almost always recommend making POAs durable because when you become incompetent is the time you will most likely need your agent's help. Having a durable POA may help your family avoid establishing a conservatorship for you in the Chancery Court if you become in competent, which is a complicated and expensive process.
In our next installment, we return to explain Mississippi's new transfer-on-death deed and other estate planning tools.

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