Enduring Powers of Attorney
Everyone considers life and everyone considers death. Not everyone considers what happens between those events, should you become incapable of managing your affairs.
Arguably, having an Enduring Powers of Attorney in place may be more important than having a Will in place.
What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?
An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is a document used to instruct someone to manage your affairs when you are alive, but you no longer have the capacity to manage them yourself. If a Will is your life insurance policy, an EPA is your critical illness insurance.
Our capacity can be lost at any age for various reasons. Sometimes it’s a tragic accident resulting in a traumatic brain injury such as skiing, motorcycling, or being hit by a car. Sometimes, it’s a progression of age and disease such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, or Parkinsons disease.
As an owner of a bank account, home, or assets, you need to entrust the ability to run your affairs, pay your bills, deal with debts, adjust utilities, or phone and cable services to someone you trust. No one can do this on your behalf without an Enduring Power ofAttorney.