Arranging Financial Power of Attorney in Florida

If you suddenly find yourself ill or injured and unable to manage your own finances, you will need another person who can come in and assist you. A person to whom you grant financial power of attorney can pay your bills, collect benefits, manage your investments and handle a variety of other financial matters on your behalf.

The person to whom you grant power of attorney is called your attorney-in-fact. You can select any competent adult to serve in this role. This person should be reliable and preferably someone who lives nearby so that it’s easier for him or her to handle various tasks.

Most Florida powers of attorney go into effect upon your signing so, you must be sure to specify it is durable so it will not automatically end if you become incapacitated.

Financial power of attorney ends upon your death or any of the following scenarios:

• You revoke the power: You can revoke power of attorney at any time, so long as you are mentally competent.
• The court invalidates the document: A court may declare your power of attorney document to be invalid if you were not mentally competent at the time you signed it or if you were the victim of undue influence or some other form of fraud.
• The attorney-in-fact was not available: You may name an alternate attorney-in-fact to avoid this problem. This person serves as a backup to your primary attorney-in-fact.

It’s important to note that in Florida, durable power of attorney is not automatically revoked if you get a divorce. Thus, if you do not want your former spouse to continue to hold power of attorney, it is advisable to revoke the document and immediately select a new attorney-in-fact.

To learn more about establishing financial power of attorney in Florida, work with a skilled Tampa estate planning attorney at BaumannKangas Estate Law.