Healthcare and Durable Power of Attorney Lawyer in Charlotte, North Carolina

If illness, injury, or incapacity prevents you from making decisions for yourself, a power of attorney can give someone you choose the legal authority to act on your behalf. Healthcare powers of attorney address medical decision-making, while durable financial powers of attorney can authorize an agent to manage financial and property matters.

At Howell Law, we prepare healthcare and durable powers of attorney for clients in North Carolina and Georgia. We help you choose appropriate agents, determine the authority they should have, and put your decisions into documents that comply with applicable legal requirements.

From our office in Charlotte, North Carolina, we also review and update existing powers of attorney and coordinate these documents with your broader estate plan. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

Healthcare Power of Attorney Services

A healthcare power of attorney allows you to choose someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself. Preparing the document in advance allows you to decide who should have that responsibility.

At Howell Law, we help you select a healthcare agent and prepare the appropriate document based on your circumstances. We explain the authority you are granting and can address how the document works with other instructions concerning your healthcare.

North Carolina has specific requirements for executing a healthcare power of attorney, including acknowledgment before a notary and execution in the presence of two qualified witnesses. We prepare your document with those requirements in mind and help ensure that your choice of agent is clearly documented.

For Georgia clients, healthcare planning is addressed through the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care. We can prepare the appropriate advance directive and help you document your choice of healthcare agent and your instructions concerning healthcare decisions.

Durable Financial Power of Attorney Services

A durable financial power of attorney allows you to authorize someone to handle financial and property matters on your behalf. Because the authority can continue during incapacity, the document can provide a way for financial responsibilities to be managed if you are unable to handle them yourself.

We prepare durable powers of attorney based on the authority you want your agent to have. Depending on your circumstances, the document may address:

• Banking and financial accounts: Authorizing your agent to handle specified transactions and account matters.

• Bills and financial obligations: Allowing your agent to address expenses and other financial responsibilities.

• Real estate and property: Providing authority for permitted matters involving your property.

• Business interests: Addressing specified business or ownership matters when appropriate.

• Other financial matters: Including additional authority appropriate to your needs and planning objectives.

We explain the powers contained in the document before you sign it so you understand the authority your agent may exercise on your behalf.

Choosing and Authorizing Your Agents

Your healthcare and financial agents may eventually have significant responsibilities, so choosing whom to authorize is an important part of the planning process. At Howell Law, we help you consider who should serve and clearly document those choices.

You may choose the same person for healthcare and financial matters or name different agents for each role. We can also help you name successor agents who can act if your initial choice is unavailable or unable to serve.

Through our power of attorney services, we also help you determine the scope of authority appropriate for each agent. We discuss the decisions your agent may need to make and prepare the document around your planning needs.

Power of Attorney and Estate Plan Coordination

Healthcare and durable financial powers of attorney generally address decisions made during your lifetime. Wills, trusts, and other planning documents serve different purposes, so it is important to consider how they fit together.

At Howell Law, we can coordinate your powers of attorney with your will, trust, advance directive, and other estate planning documents. If you are creating a broader estate plan, we can address incapacity planning alongside decisions about your property and beneficiaries.

If you already have an estate plan, we can review your existing powers of attorney to determine whether they remain consistent with your current documents and planning decisions.

North Carolina and Georgia Power of Attorney Planning

Howell Law prepares powers of attorney and advance planning documents for clients in North Carolina and Georgia. Our attorney, Wesley K. Howell, is licensed in both states and takes applicable requirements into account when preparing your documents.

The two states use different documents for healthcare planning. North Carolina provides for a healthcare power of attorney, while Georgia uses an Advance Directive for Health Care that can address the appointment of a healthcare agent and healthcare instructions.

Financial powers of attorney are separate from these healthcare documents. We can explain which documents apply to your circumstances and prepare them based on the state and type of authority involved.

For clients with connections to both North Carolina and Georgia, we can also review how those connections affect the documents you need for your planning.

Creating and Updating Powers of Attorney

We prepare new powers of attorney and review existing documents when your circumstances or planning needs change. If you have married, divorced, moved, experienced significant financial changes, or want to name a different agent, we can review your current documents and prepare appropriate updates.

We can also revisit the authority granted under an existing power of attorney. Changes in your assets, responsibilities, or relationship with an agent may affect whether the document still reflects what you want.

When appropriate, we can review related estate planning documents at the same time so that updates to your powers of attorney remain consistent with your broader plan.

Charlotte Power of Attorney Lawyer

At Howell Law, we help clients establish clear legal authority for healthcare and financial decisions before that authority is needed. We prepare healthcare powers of attorney, durable financial powers of attorney, and Georgia advance directives; help clients select and authorize agents; and review existing documents when circumstances change.

We are based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and serve clients throughout Mecklenburg County, Catawba County, Union County, Gaston County, Lincoln County, Stanly County, Rowan County, Davidson County, and Georgia.

If you need to create or update a healthcare or durable financial power of attorney, contact our Charlotte healthcare and durable power of attorney lawyer to schedule a consultation.