Elder law lawyers at Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates can assist you with the creation of a power of attorney that will give you more control in case something happens to you. Unfortunately, everyone is at risk of suffering a medical emergency at any time that makes them unable to control their own assets or make their own decisions after the emergency causes incapacity. You don’t want to be unprepared in case you are in a position where you can no longer act for yourself, and tools like a springing power of attorney can help to ensure that you are protected. 
Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates has helped many people to understand their different options for incapacity planning. One of the key tools that you may wish to use is a springing power of attorney (POA). You’ll need to talk with elder law lawyers to find out if this tool is the best one for you to use and to better understand how a springing power of attorney can work to protect you.
What is a Springing Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney can be used for different purposes, as it simply allows you to grant authority to someone to act on your behalf. The person who you grant authority to is called your agent or your attorney in fact.
When you create a power of attorney, you can specify that the POA is a limited one, which would allow your chosen agent only the power to act on your behalf for a specific designated purpose. However, if you wish to use a power of attorney for incapacity planning, you’ll typically need to make a general POA. This would give your agent a broad grant of authority to act on your behalf in all circumstances.
If you do not want to immediately give your agent this power, but you instead wish to only give your agent this power in the event of your incapacity, you can create a springing durable power of attorney. You need to make sure that the POA is a durable one if you want it to stay in effect after incapacity — which of course you do if you have made it a key part of your incapacity planning, since your incapacity is actually when you would need the agent to have authority. You can also make the power of attorney a springing one so it goes into effect only under limited circumstances.
Connecticut General Statutes section 1-56H explains what a springing power of attorney is and how a springing power of attorney works in the state of Connecticut. A springing power of attorney goes into effect only if a future contingency happens, according to the relevant statute. This would mean that you could specify that your springing power of attorney is only effective, and your agent only gets power, when you suffer a medical emergency that leaves you physically or medically unable to act on your own and manage your own wealth.
A springing power of attorney gives you the flexibility that you need to ensure that someone can take over the management of your assets right away if you need him or her to do so— but also allows you to retain control and limit the circumstances under which your chosen agent actually gets the power to act for you. You’ll need to make sure you follow Connecticut’s requirements for creating a legally valid springing power of attorney so you can get the benefit of the protections that this powerful legal tool is able to provide to you.
Getting Help from Elder Law Lawyers
Elder law lawyers at Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates will assist you with creating a legally valid power of attorney that will go into effect when you need it to and that will provide the protections that you hope for and expect.
To find out more about the comprehensive help our compassionate and knowledgeable legal team can offer you as you make your incapacity plan, join us for a free seminar. You can also give us a call at 860-548-1000 or contact us online to get personalized assistance with the creation of a comprehensive incapacity plan. Don’t leave yourself and your loved ones unprotected any longer — give us a call today to get your plans in place.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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