Update a Financial Power of Attorney for Your Wasco Plans

Start with the mismatch

Before deciding whether to revise a financial power of attorney, pinpoint the mismatch between the document you have and your current circumstances. Is the person you named still someone you would choose? Have your financial responsibilities or the accounts you want considered changed? Are there decisions you want someone to handle that you had not considered when the document was prepared?

These are useful planning questions, not a checklist of legal requirements. Write down the situation that prompted your review and the outcome you want. That gives you a practical starting point for discussing whether the existing plan still reflects your wishes or should be reconsidered.

• Note changes in the people you trust with financial decisions.
• List financial responsibilities or accounts that have changed since the plan was made.
• Identify any uncertainty about what the document is meant to address.

Keep financial and health-care decisions distinct

A financial power of attorney concerns financial decisions. A health-care directive concerns health-care decisions. If your circumstances or preferences have changed in both areas, review them as separate planning questions rather than assuming one document addresses both.

For the financial document, focus your discussion on the decisions and financial matters you want considered. For health-care planning, separately consider who you would want involved in health-care decisions and what preferences you want communicated. The appropriate document depends on the kind of decision at issue.

Prepare a focused review

Gather the financial power of attorney you currently have, if available, and make a brief change list to bring to your planning discussion. You might include a change in a trusted person’s availability, a new financial responsibility, or a concern about whether the document reflects your current intentions. These are preparation suggestions, not a prescribed set of documents.

It can also help to make a neutral inventory of the financial matters you want to discuss and any questions you have about how your plan relates to them. Avoid assuming that an old document addresses a new circumstance simply because it is already in place. The goal is to make the review specific enough to identify what needs clarification.

• Bring the existing document if you can locate it.
• Describe what has changed since you made the plan.
• Write down the financial decisions or circumstances you want to discuss.

Consider authority’s limits and timing

Keep the purpose of the document in view: a financial power of attorney concerns financial decisions, not health-care decisions. If you also want to plan for health-care decisions, consider that separately through health-care planning.

A power of attorney terminates upon the principal’s death. It should therefore not be treated as authority for decisions after death. If your concern involves what happens to property after death, raise that as a separate estate-planning question rather than assuming this document addresses it.

Choose a useful next step

If the existing plan no longer matches your circumstances, organize your change list and questions before discussing possible revisions. Focus first on who you would choose for financial decision-making and what financial matters you want considered. If the issue also involves health-care preferences or arrangements after death, identify those as separate topics so each can be addressed in the appropriate planning discussion.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. serves clients virtually throughout California, including Wasco. A focused review can begin with the document you have, the changes you have experienced, and the decisions you want your plan to address.