Do You Need To See A Lawyer To Get a Legitimate Power of Attorney?

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
Location
USA
I see some online sites which offer Power of Attorney forms to fill out online, print at home and get notarized.

Is this legal and valid for a general Power of Attorney regarding financial, health, etc. issues?

Has anyone obtained a document online and actually used it for a loved one who could no longer make decisions for themselves?
 

SeaBreeze said:
I see some online sites which offer Power of Attorney forms to fill out online, print at home and get notarized.

Is this legal and valid for a general Power of Attorney regarding financial, health, etc. issues?

Has anyone obtained a document online and actually used it for a loved one who could no longer make decisions for themselves?
Click to expand...
I've done several power of attorneys, only used a lawyer once or twice. The online ones are pretty good, and for some things our Florida courthouse used to have blank ones. I have never had a problem, never had one challenged.

However if it will give you some peace of mind you might want to talk to a lawyer. One thing you can do is print out what you plan to use and show it to the lawyer, for review. You never "need" a lawyer for much of anything, however it often helps.
 

I guess it comes down to the point of whether or not you want to take a gamble on whether the paperwork would be honored or not.

All of my parents paperwork, MILs, brothers & ours went through an attorney. I don't want to find in a moment of dire need that the paperwork would be useless when it was needed. Yes, you are paying money, but it will be done right.

It also depends on the type of document your dealing with like wills or trusts. One man I know who works for the ATF says when people send trust paperwork in & if it's done through Legal Zoom, they will not honor it. But if the same paperwork is done through an attorney, they don't have a problem with it. Not sure their reasoning, but that's how they do it.

My one SIL has a medical power of attorney that was done at a local hospital just prior to surgery which is now 5+ years old. We've told her she needs to get one that will be honored no matter where she goes for treatment as another hospital may not want to honor what another hospital did, especially one that old.

As @ohioboy said, you need to follow your State laws. If you have any questions, a lawyer can answer those better than anyone else.
 
For the medical Power of Attorney, I think it just needs to be witnessed by two people, and it can be notorized as well, but some hospitals don't require that.
As for the financial one, you need to decide first if you want a financial Power of Attorney, or a durable Power of Attorney. The regular type ends it's authority when the person becomes mentally incapacitated or dies, so your designated person could handle your financial affairs prior to that happening.
The durable Power of Attorney continues, even if you are incapacitated and continues till you pass away, so whoever you designate can handle financial matters even if you are incapacitated, but still alive.
 
Last edited:
Even though it is costly, it is well worth the effort to work with an attorney who specializes in estate planning. There are nuances to these documents that I had no idea about, especially power of attorney.
Although off topic, setting up a trust and final directives will avoid many headaches for those who remain. Unbelievable, but a relative who recently passed, with a large estate, had planned everything BUT the trust. It’s still tied up in probate two years later.
 
My mother's side of the family had a dust up about a POA. When my grandmother went into assisted care, my mother had a POA made. My uncle contested it and won. The justice said since my uncle's POA was the older one, he recognized that as the valid one even though uncle had become physically handicapped and couldn't act on anything. Go figure.
 
debodun said:
My mother's side of the family had a dust up about a POA. When my grandmother went into assisted care, my mother had a POA made. My uncle contested it and won. The justice said since my uncle's POA was the older one, he recognized that as the valid one even though uncle had become physically handicapped and couldn't act on anything. Go figure.
Click to expand...
Good example as to why you might want to consult with a lawyer. All the POAs I have done contain a clause stating that it supersedes any preexisting ones. I'll bet your mother's didn't or there was a problem with the wording.
 
bobcat48 said:
For the medical Power of Attorney, I think it just needs to be witnessed by two people, and it can be notorized as well, but some hospitals don't require that.
As for the financial one, you need to decide first if you want a financial Power of Attorney, or a durable Power of Attorney. The regular type ends it's authority when you pass away, so your heirs could handle your financial affairs if you were incapacitated, but still alive.
The durable Power of Attorney continues after you pass away, so whoever you designate can handle financial matters even after your death.
Click to expand...
That is simply not accurate. All powers of attorney, no matter which kind, expire upon death of the writer! A durable power of attorney (DPA) extends beyond incapacity and until death. A durable power of attorney can only be entered into while the person is still competent enough to understand what they are signing. This is why a DPA should be entered into with an attorney who can assess whether the person is competent to sign. One of the problems with forums like this one is all the bogus information that gets constantly posted on here which, if followed, can totally screw up people's lives
 
That is why we have a family attorney for so if we have questions on anything, we have someone to ask. Many times he has answered questions & hasn't ever charged for it.

Having been in LE, I understand how criminal law works. But civil law is a completely different animal. Especially dealing with wills, living wills, medical wishes, all types of power of attorneys, & etc.

My husband's friend attempted to act on his own probating his Dad's will through the court. Out of the woodwork came a cousin who no one had anything to do with & injected himself trying to get part of the estate. Ended up a mess & possibly could have been avoided had he hired an attorney to do it.

In Ohio, the attorney fee is based on a certain percent of the dollar amount of the entire estate. It's a small price to pay for not having the headache if you screw something up yourself. In my MIL estate, we had the attorney handle it & we learned how complicated it is. We were both thankful for his work. Personally, I wouldn't recommend anyone doing it by themselves.
 
sch404 said:
One of the problems with forums like this one is all the bogus information that gets constantly posted on here which, if followed, can totally screw up people's lives
Click to expand...

That is not the posters problem. No one that responded has deb for a client, the information is "as is". It serves no legal purpose. It is opinion only. Any person asking advice on a legal matter who does not do their own research is on their own. Do not blame any participant here.
 
Usually, a Family Law attorney is reasonable $$$ .....The established law firms with partners are usually very expensive. $$$$ They may have private priced things like change of Will or POA/DPA or Rights of survivorship $$ hourly fees. If you are concerned call one and find out the price first then the meeting later. Of course, many states let you make you will out, have witnesses sign it and post it with City Hall and an Attorney. You do all the leg work. Attorney tells you if its good to go and files it for your unexpected quick demise!!!...:rolleyes: The Notary stamp is so important. Cost so significant speaking of the subject's importance.
 
Last edited:
When I made out my Will I saw a Solicitor with my 2 sons. I wanted them to have Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship, in case I can't make decisions for myself, and they have the right to say what would be best for me. I also want to donate my Organs and have a card stating the fact.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I think a lawyer is not necessary but to be considered valid, you may need to have it notarized.
Click to expand...
True, a lawyer may not be necessary, but you have to ask yourself, are you willing to take a chance on a 'WalMart' version of your last wishes?
There are so many nuances in Wills, Power of Attorney, Health Proxies, etc. that it may be worth a little more to know your wishes are covered.

One of the nuances include wording around how funds are released from a Trust if 1) the original beneficiary(s), is married and gets divorced. If that marriage included children from a previous marriage receiving from your estate, how grandchildren are included, and at what ages and how much at different intervals. What if beneficiaries have a drug or alcohol problem? How can some of the proceeds go toward rehabilitation before any funds are distributed, etc.
My point is, there are so many details that a non lawyer could miss and it could be things we never thought about.
I feel, if its your last wishes for a legacy you leave behind, do the right thing and get a lawyer.
 
@Sippican you mentioned things that most people wouldn't think about. We made our first will after we were married & thought we knew what we wanted. After talking to him, he made us think & we had things in their we otherwise wouldn't have. We didn't have kids, but he added a provision in there should we have them in reference to inheritance, etc. After the first was born, we updated our will & he had other ideas about how they would receive it & as well as to the what if's & etc which made a lot of sense.

When my brother's attorney updated Mom's final Will, Medical Power of Attorney & other paperwork, he said he would only have one person who would make those decisions. He would then list a "line of succession" should the primary not be able or unwilling to do it. From his experience with clients, he seen families who had co-decision making power & ended up at odds with each other & wasn't able to make the necessary decisions. He said those were ugly situations & at times, some decisions needed to be made immediately.

Long story short, I am so thankful that the attorney did that because it still got ugly. All of my older siblings didn't step up, so I was made primary. When the time came to make the decisions, my oldest brother told me that I would consult him & he would let me know what to do. He was serious about having it done his way. He found out real quick he had no say & gave up that right when he refused to take responsibility years ago at the attorney office. This story, however, would be for another thread.
 
Lilac said:
@Sippican you mentioned things that most people wouldn't think about. We made our first will after we were married & thought we knew what we wanted. After talking to him, he made us think & we had things in their we otherwise wouldn't have. We didn't have kids, but he added a provision in there should we have them in reference to inheritance, etc. After the first was born, we updated our will & he had other ideas about how they would receive it & as well as to the what if's & etc which made a lot of sense.

When my brother's attorney updated Mom's final Will, Medical Power of Attorney & other paperwork, he said he would only have one person who would make those decisions. He would then list a "line of succession" should the primary not be able or unwilling to do it. From his experience with clients, he seen families who had co-decision making power & ended up at odds with each other & wasn't able to make the necessary decisions. He said those were ugly situations & at times, some decisions needed to be made immediately.

Long story short, I am so thankful that the attorney did that because it still got ugly. All of my older siblings didn't step up, so I was made primary. When the time came to make the decisions, my oldest brother told me that I would consult him & he would let me know what to do. He was serious about having it done his way. He found out real quick he had no say & gave up that right when he refused to take responsibility years ago at the attorney office. This story, however, would be for another thread.
Click to expand...
Just shows, you never know how others will act.
We can assume how they would act today, but when asked to step up, some don't.

I know my boys will do the right thing. They have a deep sense of family and taking care of others when needed.

With all the interpretations of a Will, my attorney insisted I put one comment in; (paraphrase) If anyone challenges the Will, they (and any of their heirs) will receive the amount of 0 (zero) dollars or assets outlined in the Will or any other proceedings.
This one comment indicates to a judge that your intent should be followed to the letter of the Will. No ambiguities.
 
Sippican said:
With all the interpretations of a Will, my attorney insisted I put one comment in; (paraphrase) If anyone challenges the Will, they (and any of their heirs) will receive the amount of 0 (zero) dollars or assets outlined in the Will or any other proceedings.
This one comment indicates to a judge that your intent should be followed to the letter of the Will. No ambiguities.
Click to expand...
I like that in a will.

Many years ago, my husband's co-worker had problems when his father passed. His cousin who they barely knew & wasn't in the will had come out of nowhere & decided he should be included. The father only had a small house & not much else from what I recall, but it cost unexpected expenses getting it sorted out.

I wonder if that would have helped prevent this from occurring to someone else?
 
Lilac said:
I like that in a will.

Many years ago, my husband's co-worker had problems when his father passed. His cousin who they barely knew & wasn't in the will had come out of nowhere & decided he should be included. The father only had a small house & not much else from what I recall, but it cost unexpected expenses getting it sorted out.

I wonder if that would have helped prevent this from occurring to someone else?
Click to expand...
Yes, it makes your wishes very explicit in the eyes of the law. Just the fact of contesting the Will makes this clause undeniable.
Thats what my lawyer told me. Anyone thinking of this should check with a lawyer to validate it.
That is why, getting a lawyer to do the paperwork protects so much. Doing it 'on the cheap' can cause problems. And thats the last thing you want is to add confusion to the pain and sorrow already being felt.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top