How to Get Powers of Attorney
Powers of attorney are very powerful documents. They allow someone to choose an agent to handle their personal and medical affairs when they are not able to do so.
Even if you are married, powers of attorney may still be required when you are acting on behalf of your spouse in transactions involving your home and finances, when dealing with local, state, or federal government agencies, and when it comes to approving major medical procedures, hiring medical professionals, or for arranging rehabilitation therapy following a stroke, heart attack or other major illness. Without a power of attorney, you and your spouse will have limited authority to make decisions for each other, which will negatively impact the quality of your lives and unnecessarily increase anxiety, fear, and stress during difficult times.
Is the principal a parent, sibling, other relative or a dearly loved friend? Depending on your relationship to the principal, you may not immediately need a power of attorney. But, at some point you will hit a wall, and a power of attorney will be required to remove those barriers that prevent you from making well-informed decisions on behalf of the principal.
While the process is not difficult, it is not as simple as just having someone sign a form. Here is what you need to do:
Be absolutely clear about why you need a power of attorney. Is someone asking for it, for example a doctor, hospital, or rehabilitation facility? Do you need to sell, manage, or maintain property, such as the principal’s home, business, or rental property?
Confirm that the principal is able to verbally communicate their wishes. It is absolutely critical that the principal is able to communicate with the notary. Mere “yes” or “no” responses are not sufficient to establish whether the principal has the mental capacity to sign legal documents.
Be sure that the principal knows who they are, where they are, what they are doing and why they are doing it? The principal must be fully cognizant of what is going on and why there is a need for a power of attorney. They must clearly understand that they are giving you authority to have access to their money and make decisions about their personal affairs.
Confirm that the principal is willing to grant you the authority to act on their behalf. Just because you are closely related to the principal does not mean they are willing to grant you authority to manage their affairs. They must be willing to sign a power of attorney without any pressure, coercion, or undue influence.
Decide what type of power of attorney you need. A general power of attorney will allow you to handle legal and financial matters. A medical power of attorney will allow you to manage the principal’s health care. A specific power of attorney will allow you to handle a particular matter, usually for a limited period of time.
To ensure that it complies with state law, contact a legal professional to draft, prepare and notarize your powers of attorney. Most online and pre-printed forms are not set up for proper signing in Louisiana. Many of them include superfluous terms, conditions, phrases and paragraphs that may be beyond the scope of what you really need.
How to Get Power of Attorney for Someone Who is in The Hospital
Here are some considerations and steps you can take if the principal (the person granting the power of attorney) is in the hospital.
Are you the next of kin of the principal? If so, a power of attorney may not be necessary. However, the authority to make certain medical decisions would be limited.
If the principal is able to verbally authorize you to make medical decisions on their behalf, a power of attorney may not be needed. In that case, the hospital would make a note in the record. Again, the authority to make certain medical decisions would be limited.
If together you and the principal decide to get the power of attorney or it is required, you should first confirm with the hospital whether they will allow a notary to come into the facility. If it is allowed, then contact a notary to prepare the power of attorney and arrange for her to come to the facility. Also, powers of attorney should be signed in the presence of the notary and two other people who will act as witnesses to your signatures. Keep in mind that many medical facilities do not allow staff to serve as witnesses. So, it may also be your responsibility to provide the witnesses, who should be 18 years or older.
Even if the principal is alert and mentally capable, they may not be willing to sign the power of attorney because of fear or concern about losing control. When a person is seriously ill or severely disabled, that is not the best time to get them to sign documents that put someone else in control of their life.
If the principal is not conscious or is mentally incapacitated, then it is too late to get a power of attorney. Your only option would be to hire an attorney to get a court order from a judge, which is costly and time consuming. And, in a life-or-death situation, you may not have that much time.
The underlying emphasis throughout my practice and on this site is the benefits of planning ahead. Having powers of attorney and a will prepared before there is an emergency will eliminate the stress and concern that comes with trying to get important legal documents signed and notarized under such intense conditions. If the emergency involves a person who has contracted the COVID-19 virus or any of its variants, it will most likely be impossible to get legal documents signed. Get it done before it is too late.
NEXT STEPS
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