Putting Your Faith in a Power of Attorney

Subject: Putting Your Faith in a Power of Attorney Fri May 22, 2009 4:32 am

TRUST and estate lawyers routinely tell their clients about the importance of signing a durable power of attorney. Often written at the same time as a will, it appoints a family member, friend or adviser as an agent to act on your behalf in financial and legal matters — even if you become incompetent.

But as essential as these documents are, they face new — and continuing — obstacles. One is using them amid the disruptions in the financial services industry. Another is an old problem that may have grown more acute after recent scams and frauds: Many people mistrust these documents, which give unbridled power to your agent. So some people sign them to appease their lawyers but never give them to the person designated to handle their affairs.

“A power of attorney is a license to steal,” said Bernard A. Krooks, a specialist in elder law at Littman Krooks in New York who nonetheless encourages clients to sign a power of attorney. “You have to be careful who you appoint as your agent.”

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/your-money/estate-planning/21POWER.html?em

Putting Your Faith in a Power of Attorney

Putting Your Faith in a Power of Attorney

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

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