Susanville Financial Power of Attorney Planning

Start with the decision you want to plan for

If your concern is who can address financial matters when you cannot manage them yourself, begin by identifying the decisions and assets you want to discuss. A financial power of attorney addresses financial decisions; a health-care directive addresses health-care decisions. They serve different purposes, so one should not be treated as a substitute for the other.

Write down the situations you are trying to plan for and the financial matters that concern you. This gives you a practical starting point for discussing whether a financial power of attorney fits your goals and how it should coordinate with the rest of your plan.

• List the financial matters you want someone to be able to address.
• Separately note any health-care decisions you want to plan for.
• Identify existing planning documents that may need to be considered together.

Compare the documents before deciding what to change

A financial power of attorney and a health-care directive concern different kinds of decisions. If you are reviewing both, keep the questions distinct: who should address financial matters, and who should address health-care matters? Your choices for one role do not, by themselves, answer the other question.

Estate planning also involves coordinating documents with asset arrangements. Before replacing or revising a document, consider whether your current planning documents and the way your assets are arranged still fit together. A change to one part of a plan may be a reason to review the broader picture rather than make an isolated change.

• Gather the financial power of attorney and any health-care directive you already have.
• Make a separate list of questions about financial decisions and health-care decisions.
• Note changes to your assets or planning documents that may affect coordination.

Prepare questions about scope and practical use

Before deciding what to change, identify the financial matters you want the document to address and the person you are considering for that role. Discuss how the proposed authority relates to your goals during incapacity and to your other planning documents. The right questions depend on your circumstances; a general description of a document cannot determine whether a particular arrangement fits your needs.

You can also ask any financial institution or other organization with which the document may be used what information or documentation it asks for. That is a practical inquiry, not a guarantee that an organization will accept a particular document. Keep the answer with your planning notes so it can inform the discussion.

• Write down the institutions or organizations where you expect the document may be presented.
• Ask what they request for their review, without assuming their practices are the same.
• Bring the answers and relevant asset records to your planning discussion.

Understand the limits of financial authority

A financial power of attorney concerns financial decisions; it does not confer health-care decision-making authority. Health-care choices belong in a separate planning discussion about a health-care directive.

The authority also does not continue after the principal’s death. If your planning question concerns what happens to assets after death, that is a different issue to discuss as part of your overall estate plan. Do not rely on a financial power of attorney to address that separate need.

Plan the next conversation

Bring your existing documents, a concise list of financial matters you want addressed, and notes about relevant assets or institutions. If you are considering a change, explain what has changed and what outcome you are trying to plan for. This preparation can make it easier to compare the financial power of attorney with your other documents and asset arrangements.

Codi M. Dada Law Office P.C. is based at 802 Grant Ave, Novato, California, and provides virtual services throughout California. A planning discussion can focus on your financial decision-making goals and the documents and asset arrangements you want considered together.