Power of Attorney-What's the Purpose?

Vincenza Vicari-Bentley, AFC
​Empowering Financial Wellness Program Coordinator

​If you’ve been following along for bit, you know about the 2022 Finance Calendar available as a free download on our site. This resource breaks down important financial tasks with simple things to do each month to improve financial wellness. (Download Here!) One of March’s tasks is to create (or update) a power of attorney. Click to read more about this important estate planning task.

Essentially a power of attorney is giving power while protecting yours. As part of your estate plan, you might have to share your power with someone you trust. The estate planning tool that allows someone to legally act on your behalf is called a power of attorney (POA). POAs can be divided into financial and healthcare. 

A financial POA is a legal document which grants the authority to act as your agent and this can be anyone you trust and legally name. This gives your agent the ability to manage your finances when you are unable to  within the scope of the agreement. 

A healthcare POA allows the person you designate to make decisions about your healthcare when you are unable to make those decisions yourself. POAs  are only valid while you are alive.

Download our free Estate Planning Toolkit and get all the information you need to get you started on creating your own estate plan! Click HERE to download your free Estate Planning Toolkit today!