The Durable Power of Attorney is no longer a luxury. For your Elder Law counsel, it has become essential.

It is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the
1930s. The decline and associated roller coaster ride on Wall Street
has made durable power of attorney into not just a luxury when it comes
to planning your estate, but an absolute necessity. Some Elder Law
attorneys have come to view the instrument as even more integral to
contemporary estate plans than a Will or Trust.

A Dow Jones newswire column is a case-in-point. It presents the
cautionary tale of a female elder who had recently lost half of $6
million in savings. The losses were incurred almost entirely on the
stock market. The woman's woes only intensified when she became
incapacitated, and her relatives were stymied when attempting to shift
her investments, becoming increasingly frustrated as various remedies
were attempted as damage control measures. But they lacked legal
authority to take these corrective steps. An inherent irony was that
the woman had once executed a power of attorney in case she ever were
to become incapacitated, but the issue had become moot as the person
she'd nominated had died and she'd neglected to name a successor. If
dead men (or women) tell no tales, it's also true that dead friends, no
matter how trusted, cannot follow through with their power of attorney
responsibilities.

Such columns have also tackled what many consider to be the
thorniest question when executing a power of attorney. Is there someone
you can actually trust with this power? Trust is always a thorny issue,
but perhaps it is better to avoid naming someone if one-hundred percent
trust has yet to be established. In fact, the powers of attorney
instrument has become the subject of frequent "horror stories" in
recent years, especially since the onset of our current Great
Recession. In fact, exploitation of vulnerable elders by rascally
persons misusing their powers of attorney roles is becoming epidemic.

But this doesn't make the instrument less necessary in these
difficult times, assert Elder Law experts such as Gene L. Osofsky. If
someone trusted can be found, and if proper safeguards are in place,
such as deciding who retains originals of the power of attorney
document prior to when the instrument may be needed, then it can work
well indeed. A power of attorney can take effect immediately or can
become effective only when the subject is incapacitated as defined in
the document and confirmed by a physician. In 2009, the need for a
durable power of attorney has never been greater.

Gene Osofsky is an East Bay elder law attorney in California. Gene
Osofsky specializes in Medi-Cal planning, wills, probate, trusts,
nursing home issues, special needs planning, and disability planning.
To learn more about East Bay elder law lawyers, East Bay elder law attorney, Medi-Cal planning, Medi-Cal planning lawyers and The Law Offices of Osofsky & Osofsky, visit Lawyerforseniors.com.