Comparing Financial Power of Attorneys: Badly Drafted DIY vs. Well-Drafted Documents       

Q. My husband is a handy DIYer and it has saved us lots money, in many instances. Now, he is insisting on doing our estate planning documents, including our Wills and our Financial Powers of Attorney, on his own. I am glad he wants to take the initiative, but I am thinking that this is a bad idea. I would hate for something to go wrong and for banks not to accept it, or for the other horror stories I have read about to happen to us. He says if he can’t DIY it, he is going to find the least expensive attorney in town to do it for us, as he is convinced that POAs are always the same, no matter who does them. Can you back me up in saying that we should see a highly-experienced estate planning attorney for such things? Thanks for your help!  

Critter Corner: How Can a Power of Attorney Protect You from Exploitation?    

Dear Angel, 

I was recently listening to a true crime podcast and heard an alarming episode. A woman, Caroline, created a power of attorney for an older man, Charles, and moved into his California home. Charles died shortly after, although authorities do not know the cause of death. Caroline had used the fraudulent power of attorney that she drafted to steal his property and assets and forged a will to become a trustee for an estate benefiting herself, valued at $1.7 million. 

Unfortunately, this was not Caroline’s only victim. She was suspected of defrauding another victim out of his house worth $1.5 million by also forging his power of attorney documents. The victim, who had mental health issues, died by suicide after losing his home. Caroline was later arrested, forced to pay back more than $3.8 million, and is serving a 20-year sentence in prison. Both these instances were upsetting to hear, to say the least. How can a well-drafted power of attorney protect someone from financial exploitation? 

Dee Freud