Appointing Your Power of Attorney for Property:

The attorney for property and the attorney for personal care serve very different functions. You should choose the right person for each role. This decision should not be made lightly.

The attorney for property (does not have to be and usually is not a lawyer, despite the use of the word “attorney” in this context.

Your attorney for property will usually be a spouse, family member, friend, or trusted professional of your choosing.

You can have more than one attorney or property, which I discuss separately in the article “Can Two Or More People Be Named as Power of Attorney?”

Before choosing the oldest child, or the male child, or the newest spouse (these are often the people chosen without giving the matter much thought), consider the following:

This person you choose should have financial aptitude and be financially responsible. They should be able to balance a budget, track expenses and expenditures, make solid financial decisions, and understand tax reporting and filing obligations.

In addition, and of critical importance, they should be someone trustworthy. They should not be prone to, or otherwise at risk of, giving into the very real temptation to use your money or other assets for themselves. For example,

They should not suffer from addictions as a result of which they may be tempted to use your assets to buy their drug of choice,

They should not be in debt, bankrupt, or financially dependent upon you, which could cause them to dip into your assets to alleviate their own financial crisis, and

They should not have the sort of mental health condition which could cause them to make poor or erratic financial decisions with your money, or impact their ability to communicate reasonably with the rest of the family.

Power of Attorney Family Conflicts

Another very important consideration is how they handle interpersonal conflict. Choose an attorney for property who tries to resolve conflict, not escalate it.

Lawyers often have clients say “My kids (or my first family and my second wife) have always fought, but they’ll just have to work together now.” In your final years, you and your family could be caught up in quite acrimonious and protracted disputes in and out of Court, if the person(s) you’ve named to act as your attorney for property cannot get along with others.

It is very common for conflict to rear its ugly head when one family member is given the authority to decide what happens to your property and finances. The others in the family often scrutinize every expenditure the attorney for property makes, certain it will directly impact their inheritance.

In families where there is real or potential for family conflict, you may be wise to appoint a trusted professional to act as your attorney for property, like a trustee at a larger financial institution or a lawyer. If you have a sizeable net worth, this will be money well spent.

See Also: 7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Your Power of Attorney

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