In the
past year, we have heard from a number of clients letting us know that banks
and other financial institutions are reluctant to accept Durable Powers of
Attorney dated more than two years ago. The same is also true of doctors and
hospitals when it comes to accepting Patient Advocate Designations. All of
these institutions share this reluctance because when a significant amount of
time passes between the execution and use of the document , there is a concern
that the person may have executed a new document in the intervening time,
naming a different person to act on their behalf. For this reason, we encourage
our clients to regularly “refresh” their Patient Advocate Designations and Durable Powers of
Attorney.
Another
benefit of regularly refreshing these documents is the ability to review the
choices clients have made in naming people to make decisions on their behalf. It is a good idea make sure those people
named are still living, able to assist the client, and still whom the client
wants to make decisions on their behalf. This review is important because
Patient Advocate Designations and Powers of Attorney are documents clients
generally do not think about after signing, until something goes wrong and the
client needs to make use of the documents. This "sign and put in a drawer"
philosophy frequently leads to complacency, and clients are surprised to
discover, years later, that their documents contain people whom they have not
spoken to in years or who would no longer be suitable to assist the client
should they be incapacitated.
A final
benefit of regularly refreshing Powers of Attorney and Patient Advocate
Designations is the ability to have documents that comply with the most recent statutory
language and best practices for creating such documents. Over the last ten
years the specific powers enumerated in a comprehensive Durable Power Of
Attorney have increased substantially, ensuring that the person named to act
has the authority to deal with a wide variety of situations and institutions
that all require specific permission prior to releasing any information to a
third party.
The
process of refreshing these documents does not need to be expensive nor
time-consuming. An experienced attorney, especially one the client has worked
with previously, should be able to review the documents with the client over
the phone and have updated documents prepared to sign in a matter of days. It
is important to work with an experienced professional rather than using a fill
in the blank form or other do-it-yourself method because these documents confer
substantial power to another person to act on your behalf.
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