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►What is a will?

►Who needs  a will?

►What can be accomplished by making a will?

►What happens when one dies without a will?

►What are the requirements for a valid will?

►A Last Will is different than a Living Will

►A Last Will is different than a Living Trust

►Last Will v. Power of Attorney

Last Will v. Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a separate legal document. It can be "limited" or "durable." As the name suggests, a Limited Power of Attorney gives limited powers to a person you trust, called attorney-in-fact or agent, for a limited time. Furthermore, a limited power of attorney is not effective if you become incapacitated. A limited power of attorney can be used if you want someone you trust to act on your behalf in specific financial and legal matters while you are temporarily unavailable (e.g., gone in vacation, short-term hospitalization, etc).

A Durable Power of Attorney is called "durable" because it is effective also upon the incapacity of the principal; that's you, the person making the power of attorney. You can give broad authorization to someone you trust to take care of your financial and legal matters when you no longer can. If you are of sound mind now, but you anticipate to be incapacitated because of a chronic or serious illness, or simply because of old age, this is the power of attorney you need. Even if you do not expect to be incapacitated in the near future, most experts would agree that an estate plan is not complete without a durable power of attorney - an important tool needed to plan for the unexpected. LegalArrow® can help you create a limited or a durable power of attorney.