In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson talks about the importance of having successor agents listed in your Power of Attorney. If you do not name enough successor agents in your Power of Attorney, or if one successor is unable to serve, a judge can go through a long and expensive guardianship hearing to determine who will take over as successor.
The Importance of Naming Successor Agents
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law Minute. Can I talk to you a little bit about one of my pet peeves? I, a lot of times, will see people that do powers of attorney, and they will name one person to act for them and maybe one successor.
Let me tell you what’s really wrong with that. As I like to tell people, there are only two people in the world who can give someone the authority to make and carry out decisions for you. One of those is you, and the other one is a judge in a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding. Adding two or three additional successors to a power of attorney costs you nothing more when you have it prepared. Failing to add them can cost thousands of dollars, delays, and a loss of control over who is going to be taking care of your important financial and medical affairs if you don’t name successor agents. So, please name successor agents on your powers of attorney. Thanks.
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