In Mississippi, you can sign a Durable Power of Attorney that will give you the security of knowing someone will take care of your finances if you cannot. The power of attorney allows you to give another person the legal authority to handle your financial transactions and deal with your personal property if you should become unable to handle your daily finances and responsibilities. The person you name as your Attorney in fact will have the authority to make the following types of decisions:
- Pay your bills
- Conduct some banking transactions
- Collect government benefits
- Managing investments
Your power of attorney should include (among other provisions):
- Gifting power
- Power to create a trust
- Power to transfer assets
- Provisions for a successor to act in case the first agent cannot
If you have not designated someone to handle your financial responsibilities if you become incapacitated, your family could be faced with expensive court costs. The power of attorney ends upon your death, your revocation of the power, or if a court invalidates your document.
Call our office to discuss your need for a Power of Attorney.
However, you should be aware that these Powers of Attorney do not always work. The reason is that there is no Mississippi legal requirement that they by honored by other persons or entities. The result is that many banks and other institutions decline to honor Powers of Attorney. This is partly because of the ease of revoking a Power of Attorney without any notice, or the fact that they are sometimes forged. Many of these institutions just do not want to take a chance on relying upon a document that may or may not be valid, so they do not honor the Power of Attorney. The alternative for your family in the event you are incapacitated, if your Power of Attorney is refused, and you have no other method that will actually give proper authority (such as Living Trust), is to go to the court for a conservatorship—sometimes called a "living probate," since it takes place while you are alive.
