Preventing financial institutions from refusing to honor POA’s

In the last blog, we discussed the issue of financial institutions refusing to honor powers of attorney and making clients sign their own institutions’ legal forms.

In order to prevent this from occurring, here are some suggested steps to take:

• Draft your durable power of attorney with a trusted and experienced Florida elder law attorney who will prepare comprehensive documents for you.
• Show your DPOA to your financial institution to ensure that it will accept the document in the future. Make sure to have this agreement signed and in writing. If the institution does not approve of the DPOA, go back to your attorney for assistance.
• If the institution is difficult to work with, ask your elder law attorney to speak with them or move your assets to a new financial institution.

While it is important to have a durable power of attorney, it is also critical to take the extra steps to ensure that it will be honored at other institutions. If you have more questions on this topic or wish to prepare end-of-life documents, contact our office at (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.