If you are like most adults, then you have a number of bills to pay every month. There is a mortgage or rent payment, a car payment, insurance payments and utility bills. You may also have credit card bills and payments due on other revolving lines of credit that help you manage your monthly budget.
Whether you have automated some of those payments or send them individually through a banking app every month, you are ultimately the one responsible for keeping the lights on at your house and the mortgage up to date.
A car crash or a stroke will affect your life in more ways than you can imagine. Any medical condition that incapacitates you can strain your finances quickly. Do you have protections in place in case something unexpected happens to you?
You may need to authorize someone to handle your finances
Even if you are married, you may have certain accounts that you manage on your own. Your spouse may not have access to your personal checking account where your employer deposits your salary every month. If you have automated payments set up because you are a single adult, those payments might bounce if direct deposit from your work ends after a medical incident.
If you create a financial power of attorney now, you will have peace of mind for the foreseeable future. You will know that even if something happens to you, there is someone with access to and information about your finances who can protect your financial stability. They can pay your utility bills and mortgage to ensure that you don’t fall behind. Otherwise, when you recover from your condition, you could have months of unpaid bills to address.
A power of attorney protects you and the people who depend on you
The idea of giving someone else even temporary access to your financial accounts may make you uncomfortable. People may worry that even those that they trust could succumb to temptation when they have easy access.
If you take the time to draft a detailed and customized financial power of attorney, there will be specific limitations on the financial control that you give to someone else in the event of your incapacitation. Creating a power of attorney service is an important protection for you, your children and anyone else who might depend on you. Thinking about what might happen if you die or have another emergency can help you decide what steps to take while planning your estate.