Florida legal ethics and fees

The Financial Power of Attorney and Seniors

A funny thing happens as we grow older. Our parents grow older as well. Sooner or later, you cannot help but notice they are not as sharp as before. Sooner or later, you have to start helping them out with financial decisions as well.

As the baby boomer generation ages, a new class of criminal is coming to the forefront. They focus on unsuspecting seniors with their sole intent being to separate them from their money with fake good causes and such.

So, who are the targets? Often, the primary target is a widow or widower who does not have a history of handling the finances of the couple, but now must do to the passing of the individual who did.
The scam artists then implement a wide variety of scams. There are so many that it is impossible to go through them all. The one constant, however, is to get the victim to voluntarily move money to the criminal. You have one weapon against this.

Taking the ability to make financial decisions away from a senior is the way to put an end to the scams. The power of attorney does just that. If anyone tries to move money, you will get a call from the bank or investment institution first.

A power of attorney is used to delineate legally who has authority in certain situations. In this case, we are talking about who has control of financial issues, but they can also be used in situations such as authority for making health care decisions.

Obviously, a power of attorney for financial issues is a bit different. It gives you the right to be the sole signator on bank accounts, make investment decisions and so on. It acts as a safety check on most decisions made by your elder parents.

The power of attorney is a relatively short document, but it packs a huge punch because of the fact it grants vitally important rights to someone. A power of attorney is highly regulated and you should use an attorney to form one so you get it right.

Legal issues are great and all, but what about the child parent relationship? Discussing this subject with your parents is probably something you associate with getting a bad tooth pooled. Painful that it may be, it must be done.

With some parents, the decision to sign a power of attorney is not a big deal. They realize things have changed and accept it. With other seniors, the process is not so smooth. Ultimately, your parent has to make the decision, so you can only do so much.

Is a power of attorney legally required as your parents get older? No, but it often makes a lot of sense when it comes to avoiding problems with scams.

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