4 Worst Reasons For Not Having a Will and Power of Attorney
For some reason, I find getting my friends to actually act and get a will to be one of the toughest sells I try to make. Maybe it’s me and I’m just not a terribly persuasive person. People I talk to about this agree that having a will is a great idea and it’s something they should do. Getting them to do it is something else altogether.
Whenever I mention having a will to friends, I also tell them it’s important to have a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone to act on your behalf. You can make the powers conferred on this person as broad or narrow as you like.
A power of attorney is not scary, but not having one is. If you cannot act on your own behalf for any reason (commonly, the reason is medical), your bills still need to be paid. You need a trusted person to take care of things if you can’t.
Here are the 4 bad reasons for not having a will and power of attorney.
“I don’t want to focus on death.”
You know what, neither do I, but we’re all going to die. When you do, you need to know your loved ones and your affairs are taken care of. It’s not really that painful an exercise. Plus, once it’s done, you can stop ‘focusing on death’ unless you have a major change to your life (e.g. birth of a child).
“I don’t have much in the way of assets anyway.”
Maybe not, but you have an opinion on how your money is spent before you die. You should also have an opinion on where it goes afterward.
“I don’t have kids. If I die, my wealth will all go to my spouse by default.”
Absolutely incorrect in many cases. In many states, if you’re survived by a spouse and your parent(s), they share your property equally. You may want your spouse to get everything, but that might not be the case. Note that any assets that are Joint Tenant With Right of Survivorship (JTWRS) do automatically go to the other person. But I’ll bet you have plenty of assets not in that category.
“It’s too expensive.”
It’s really not. A basic will drawn up by an attorney (not a piece of software) might cost between $200-$300. I don’t think that’s too expensive to make sure your wishes are fulfilled when you die.
So getting a will is not hard, not expensive, yet it’s valuable both practically and for piece of mind. You really have no good excuse for not having one. As for us, we have to get ours updated since we have a new child. I’m waiting for the SSN to come in the mail before we go, though.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Nice post. I’m an attorney and about 40-50% of my practice is in estate planning. What most people overlook is that spending a few hundred dollars now to put the appropriate documents in place can save your family thousands of dollars and frustration later on. Without having power of attorney and health care powers of attorney (also known as an advance medical directive), families often end up in conflict and it may be necessary to go through the court system to have a guardian appointed—this is very time consuming, costly, and an emotional burden on your loved ones. Anyone remember Terri Schiavo?
A common misperception I see is that folks thing that a power of attorney gives the person appointed immediate broad-scope power to do whatever with your financial affairs. This is not true. First, most powers are drafted so that they will only become effective if you become incapacitated, meaning that you are mentally or physically incapable of handling your own affairs (if this is what you want, make it clear to your attorney). Second, the person designated has what is referred to as a “fiduciary duty,” meaning that they are legally obligated to act in your best interest. They cannot go out and frivously spend your money, and if they do, you would have a cause of action against them.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
My mom has one, which is good because she’s dying of terminal cancer. But my dad…he keeps putting his off, which is stupid because his health isn’t good either. Maybe I’ll mention it to him. One of his sisters has lots of experience from when she had their father’s power of attorney as he battled Alzheimer’s. Or he could give it to me as a backup to my mom and then I could get my aunt’s advice…. I should remind him again. I don’t want to nag, but it’s important.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
@JB - Thanks for your comment. I’m glad I got it right according to an estate attorney! You make good points about POAs. The big thing is to know that a general POA is worthless when you’re incapacitated. Only a durable or springing (that’s what I have) works.
@Mrs. Micah - Yeah, I know what you mean. That’s the thing - everyone agrees it’s a good idea…just for other people.
October 29th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
What’s wrong with a will done using something like Nolo’s willmaker if you only have a simple estate? I.e. married and want to leave everything to your spouse, or an alternate sibling should the spouse not survive you?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:13 am
@ Justin - There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with it, per se. It’s just that those software packages cost around $50, aren’t necessarily valid everywhere, and don’t include the personal ’stepping through’ that a real attorney would provide. I know from my own experience, our lawyer thought to ask questions I wouldn’t have thought to ask (or answer).
November 4th, 2007 at 10:28 am
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