King & Snohomish County Washington Power of Attorney Lawyer

A power of attorney (POA) is the legal document allowing another person to act on your behalf, and you will want to have a Lynnwood estate planning lawyer assist you in crafting a POA that will accomplish all of your directives. The POA is particularly helpful for older adults who want to choose a trusted relative or friend to act when they are unable.

Without a POA, your friends or family could have to go to court to get a guardian appointed in a process that can be very lengthy, very expensive, and very public. The POA is an important estate planning document for a person to have in preparation for any kind of event causing incapacity, which typically cannot be predicted.

POAs in Washington State

Revised Code of Washington (RCW) § 11.125.050 is the state law governing the requirements of a POA. For a POA to be valid in Washington, it must:

• Be entitled “Power of Attorney.”

• Be dated and signed by you and either witnessed or notarized by two disinterested people who cannot be health care workers at a long-term care facility, blood relatives, or relatives by marriage.

• When you choose co-agents to make decisions on your behalf, the co-agents have to act jointly unless the Power of Attorney specifically gives authority to the co-agents to act independently.

• State when it becomes operative because a general POA will become effective upon signing, must be witnessed by a notary or by two disinterested witnesses, and ends with revocation or your incapacity, while a durable POA will be effective through incapacity.

• Medical POAs allow you to give a designated agent authority to make healthcare decisions on your behalf and allow them access to information that would ordinarily be protected by the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Authority given to a spouse or registered domestic partner automatically terminates upon filing an action to dissolve the marriage or domestic partnership. You can specifically exonerate a chosen agent from liability for their actions, with certain limitations.

Call Us Today to Schedule a Consultation with a King & Snohomish County Power Of Attorney Lawyer

Did you need help developing a POA in Snohomish County Washington? Bountiful Law regularly handles these kinds of documents and other estate planning needs.

Our firm will be able to craft a POA that addresses every concern you might have. You can call 425.775.9700 or contact us online to schedule a consultation that will let us sit down with you and go over everything that you need to be included in your POA.