Once I had a grasp on how many things I would need to handle for my father, I decided to research exactly what my role as Power of Attorney would mean. Since I had never done this before, I was feeling a bit anxious, so I googled “Power of Attorney”. I had a vague idea of what the role entailed, but I wanted to make sure that I really understood what I was going to be responsible for.
What I found out was: a Power of Attorney allows a person to choose someone they trust to handle important financial and legal issues for them. A Power of Attorney can become effective immediately, or only upon illness or mental incapacitation.
Okay. I was on the same page as Google and I was feeling a bit more confident. But, then, I realized that I would need to get a legal Power of Attorney document drafted. According to my research, I wasn’t going to be able to accomplish a whole lot without one. So, now I had to figure out how to do that.
I started asking my friends and family for advice. Yet, I was surprised (and a little disheartened) when I realized that many of them just paid attorneys to do the work for them. If it my father hadn’t been on a fixed income, I probably would have gone down that path too, but seeing that he was, an attorney wasn’t an option for us.
Luckily, after venting my frustrations to a friend of mine, he suggested that I use LegalZoom.com. I was a bit hesitant to use an online legal service, but my friend had used them in the past to create a will, and he felt very confident in their expertise. Plus, it would only cost a fraction of the price of hiring an attorney to do it for us! I was sold!
When I first went to LegalZoom’s web site, I wanted to find out how the company works before I gave them my money. I was pleasantly surprised to find all of their information front and center:
“LegalZoom is America’s leading online legal document and filing service…LegalZoom makes it easy to take care of a variety of common legal matters…it’s as easy as answering a series of straightforward questions in a secure, online environment…LegalZoom then reviews their answers, prepares their legal documents, and in many cases, files the completed paperwork at no extra cost.”
I decided to take LegalZoom for a test drive and I have to say that the overall process was rather easy. I had all of my father’s necessary information on hand, so I was able to zip right through it. The beauty in this service is that they simply ask you to fill in the answers to their questions – and then they create the document for you.
For example, some of the questions they ask when filling out the Power of Attorney document are:
· Who is granting the Power of Attorney?
· Address, City, State, Zip
· Agent’s information, as well as, an alternate’s information.
· When the POA should go into effect – i.e. immediately, or only if mentally incapacitated.
· What rights will the agent have?
· Additional Power / Limitations for the Agent
So, if you decide to use LegalZoom to create a Power of Attorney document, rest assured – you’re in good hands. LegalZoom will fully explain what you are doing. Between their unlimited customer support, to their incredible Education Center, you will not be uneasy about the choices you are making.
I should also mention that when the Power of Attorney arrived, it was very professional looking – as it should have been. All we had left to do was to sign the document together in front of a notary public!
So, my third piece of advice is: Whether you hire an attorney, or use LegalZoom.com, make sure you have a legal, signed and notarized, Power of Attorney right away. Without it, you cannot properly take care of your loved one.
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