Power of attorney

There are several different types of Power of Attorney documents that can cover financial or health care matters. 

With health care POA you’re giving authority to someone else to make medical decisions for you in the event that you're not able to make them on your own. 

There’s also Durable Power of Attorney. In very simple terms, power of attorney is either somebody to help you manage money or your health at a point when you either can't take care of yourself or at the point that you become incapacitated. Incapacitation, also sometimes called incompetency, is a legal term that generally refers to someone who "can't review information or logically think through things.” This sometimes happens after a stroke or with later-stage dementia or Alzheimer's disease. When this occurs, the durable power of attorney would come into full force, meaning that a designated overseer or agent steps in to make decisions on behalf of the individual.

You want to have documents like this ready ahead of time. How soon should you get this done? Really from age 18 on. And it becomes even more important as we age. For more information call 320 679-5183.