The Complete Power of Attorney Guide for Consumers and Small Businesses: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

by Ashar, Linda C.

• ISBN13: 9781601383112
• ISBN10: 1601383118
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-30
• Publisher: Atlantic Pub Co

Summary

With any number of medical, financial, and legal issues that could crop, the responsibility weight of handling another's financial matters in insurmountable. Power of attorney is not just for the individual cases; the same problems can arise for small businesses. In order to avoid these mishaps, it is vital you understand the power of attorney process and how you go about establishing it. Now, there is a book to help you cut away the confusing red tape.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 15
Introduction	p. 25
What is a Power of Attorney?	p. 31
An Overview of POAs	p. 32
Types of Powers of Attorney	p. 37
Childcare POA	p. 38
Health Care POA	p. 39
Financial POA	p. 42
All-in-one POA	p. 43
Durable and limited/unlimited POAs	p. 44
Statutory Forms	p. 45
How to Choose an Attorney-in-Fact (or Agent)	p. 47
Responsibilities of the Attorney-in-Fact	p. 52
You as the Agent	p. 56
Having the Conversation	p. 57
Know what you want and why you want it	p. 58
Location	p. 59
Body language	p. 60
Conversation skills	p. 61
Overcoming communication problems	p. 62
Explaining Your Choice to Others	p. 66
Childcare Power of Attorney	p. 71
Your Commitment in a Childcare POA	p. 72
Limited/Limited Nondurable POA for Childcare	p. 73
Financial Power of Attorney	p. 75
General Power of Attorney	p. 78
Limited Power of Attorney	p. 78
Unlimited Power of Attorney	p. 79
Limited POA for real estate	p. 80
Durable Unlimited Power of Attorney	p. 81
Selecting a Financial Attorney-in-Fact	p. 82
Medical and Health Care POA	p. 87
Noteworthy Right-to-Die Cases	p. 89
Karen Ann Quinlan	p. 89
Nancy Cruzan	p. 90
Terri Schiavo	p. 91
The Aftermath	p. 96
Impact of the Quinlan, Cruzan, and Schiavo Cases	p. 97
Durable Health Care or Medical POA	p. 100
Choosing an Attorney-in-Fact for Health Care	p. 101
Living Wills	p. 102
What is Right for You?	p. 103
Important terms and concepts to know	p. 104
How to Make a Decision	p. 115
Consult your physician	p. 116
Other Documents to Consider in Addition to Your POA	p. 119
Affidavit of Attorney-in-Fact	p. 120
Revocation of POA	p. 121
Forms Relating to Health Care POAs	p. 122
Living will	p. 123
DNR order	p. 125
Anatomical gift form	p. 126
Living trust	p. 129
Revocable living trust	p. 132
Last will and testament	p. 133
This Is A Lot Of Work-Do I Really Need To Worry?	p. 137
You cannot afford to die	p. 138
Working with an Attorney to Prepare Your POA	p. 141
Locating an Attorney	p. 142
Working with the Attorney	p. 143
Making Sure the Relationship Works	p. 145
Firing an Attorney	p. 147
Specific State Laws	p. 149
How to Research for Your State's POA Laws	p. 165
Finding Additional Information	p. 171
Why People Get it Wrong	p. 171
Research is boring	p. 172
People do not know what they want	p. 172
Break the Spine	p. 173
Take a holistic approach	p. 174
Read between the lines	p. 175
Signing Your POA	p. 177
Take it Seriously	p. 177
The POA Signing Ritual	p. 177
Conclusion	p. 181
List of Power of Attorney Types	p. 183
Sample POA and Estate Forms	p. 185
Where to Find Blank Forms	p. 187
General Power of Attorney	p. 190
Revocation of Power of Attorney	p. 198
North Carolina Statutory Short Form POA	p. 198
Oklahoma Statutory Form for Power of Attorney	p. 203
Durable General Power of Attorney Effective at a Future Time (New York Springing POA)	p. 207
Advance Health Care Directive Form	p. 214
Power of Attorney for Health Care	p. 217
Illinois Living Will Act (755 ILCS 35)	p. 224
Illinois Health Care Surrogate Act (755 ILCS 40)	p. 226
Illinois Power of Attorney Act (755 ILCS 45)	p. 227
Indiana Living Will Declaration	p. 227
Indiana Life-Prolonging Procedures Declaration	p. 229
Statutory Living Will Form in North Carolina	p. 230
Pennsylvania Advance Health Care Declaration Statutory Form	p. 238
Pennsylvania Out-of-Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate Order	p. 241
Virginia Advance Medical Directive	p. 243
Estate Planning Worksheets	p. 253
Your Estate in Black and White	p. 259
Prioritization	p. 262
Who, What How, and When	p. 263
Essential Documents and Accounts Inventory	p. 263
Party Planning with an Unusual Twist	p. 283
Estate Plan Summary Sheet	p. 286
Annual To-Do List	p. 287
Estate Planning Quiz Answers	p. 289
Glossary of Terms	p. 293
Bibliography	p. 301
Author Biography	p. 307
Index	p. 309
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