Happy New Year!

Hope your new year has started off great. Mine was slightly auspicious, clouded in the fog of a really strong head cold (which I hear is going around)… but I’m on the mend!

Today I wanted to talk about the most powerful (and underestimated) estate planning doc – the Power of Attorney.

See, most people think estate planning is centered on death – where do you want everything to go and who do you want to be in charge – and that’s an important part.

But let’s be honest… when that happens we’re dead. We want things to be great but we’re not really personally affected by the outcome.

The Power of Attorney, however, covers you while you are alive.

It has a SIGNIFICANT impact on your life.

And, without it, those around you can be left powerless to help (without court intervention and A LOT of headaches).

Most of you probably know what the Power of Attorney does – it names the person that has the authority to act on your behalf, financially, mostly, in your stead.

You do not have to be incapacitated for them to take action.

Once assigned, you do not even have to direct them to take action.

If, however, the scenario arises where you need a trusted source to access your financial assets on your behalf, the Power of Attorney provides that access.

And, as a reminder, no, they are not allowed to just go into your accounts and do whatever they want. Your Power of Attorney has a fiduciary duty to act in your best interest.

Bills, funds for children, access by a spouse (on individual accounts), these are all scenarios where your Power of Attorney can step in and help.

And, if you’re worried about your Power of Attorney gaining access before you want them to, here’s a strategy – once you’ve created your plan let the person know they are named in the plan and if anything should happen to you they should retrieve your plan and use it to help you.

Then, just store your plan somewhere they can get it, and if they need it, they have access (telling a bank they are Power of Attorney won’t work – they’ll want to see the doc).

That’s it for today!

Let’s have a great 2025!

Cheers,

Christopher Small
Founder/CEO
CMS Law Firm LLC

PS – we love referrals! If you know someone that could use our help, please let them know about us!