Estate planning is not only about what happens after you die.

It is also about what happens if you are alive but temporarily or permanently unable to handle important decisions for yourself.

A California power of attorney and advance health care directive allow you to decide in advance who you trust to step in if that ever happens.

These documents do different jobs, but together they answer two very important questions:

Who can handle my financial affairs if I cannot?

And who can make health-care decisions for me if I cannot communicate those decisions myself?

What Does a Financial Power of Attorney Do?

A financial power of attorney allows you to authorize someone you trust, called your agent or attorney-in-fact, to handle certain financial and legal matters on your behalf.

Depending on how the document is written, your agent may be authorized to manage bank accounts, pay bills, deal with insurance matters, handle real estate or other property, communicate with financial institutions, or take care of other financial responsibilities.

The authority you give your agent can be broad or limited. The document can also address when that authority begins and how long it continues.

California Courts explains that a power of attorney can allow someone you choose to handle some or all of your financial, real estate, tax, or other matters, depending on the authority you give them.

Without appropriate planning, a spouse, adult child, or other relative does not automatically have unlimited authority to manage assets and accounts that are held only in your name.

Depending on the circumstances, your family may encounter significant obstacles trying to manage those matters for you. In some situations, court involvement, including a conservatorship proceeding, may become necessary.

A properly prepared financial power of attorney can help reduce that risk.

What Does an Advance Health Care Directive Do?

An advance health care directive addresses medical decisions rather than financial ones.

It allows you to name someone you trust to act as your health-care agent if you are unable to make or communicate health-care decisions yourself.

It also gives you the opportunity to put your own wishes in writing.

For example, you may be able to provide guidance about the types of treatment you would or would not want, pain management, end-of-life care, and other medical preferences that matter to you.

California Courts explains that an advance health care directive can identify the care you would want if you could not speak for yourself and can appoint an agent to communicate your wishes. 

A separate HIPAA authorization can also help the people you have chosen obtain medical information when they need it, so they are not being asked to make important decisions without access to relevant information.

These Documents Are Not Just for Older Adults

This is the part many people miss.

Incapacity does not wait for retirement.

A car accident, unexpected illness, complication from surgery, or other medical event can temporarily leave an adult of almost any age unable to handle financial or medical decisions independently.

California Courts specifically describes powers of attorney and advance health care directives as tools that can help people prepare for unexpected events during their lifetimes, not just for what happens at death.

The question is not whether you expect something to happen.

The question is whether you want to decide in advance who you trust if it ever does.

What Happens If You Do Not Have These Documents?

The answer depends on the circumstances.

Some financial matters may already be jointly owned or otherwise accessible to another person. Some health-care decisions may be governed by other applicable rules. Every situation is different.

But families often assume that being married or being someone’s adult child automatically gives them authority over everything.

It does not.

When the proper authority is not already in place, families may have to spend valuable time determining what they can legally do, contacting institutions, seeking legal advice, or in some cases asking a court for authority.

That can happen at exactly the time when everyone is already dealing with a medical crisis.

Putting your choices in writing can make that situation much easier.

You Still Remain in Control

Signing a power of attorney or advance health care directive does not mean handing over your life to someone else.

These documents are planning tools.

You decide whom to appoint, what authority to give, and what instructions to include.

And while you have capacity, you continue making your own decisions.

The purpose is to have a plan available if the day ever comes when you need someone else to act.

Simple Documents Can Prevent Complicated Questions

Once these documents are properly completed, they often sit quietly in the background while you continue living your life.

Many people will never experience a situation in which their agent needs to use them.

But if the unexpected does happen, the people you selected have something extremely valuable: direction.

They know whom you chose.

They know what authority you gave.

And they have written guidance about what you wanted.

That is one of the most practical purposes of estate planning.

Choose Who Speaks for You Before Someone Has to Ask

Estate planning is about protecting your decision-making during your lifetime as well as planning for what happens after your death.

A financial power of attorney and advance health care directive allow you to make those choices while the decisions are still yours to make.

At LSG Legal, we help clients understand what these documents actually do, choose the people they trust, and put their wishes in writing.

Ready to take the next step? Schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session with LSG Legal.