Power Of Attorney In Rockland County
Al Kaiser completing a power of attorney in his Rockland County office
A power of attorney is a document that appoints another person to perform financial and legal activities on your behalf. In the event you become incapacitated, the person you choose to give power of attorney to is authorized to take over your legal and financial affairs, as opposed to going to court and having the court appoint a guardian. The individual chosen will be authorized to pay your bills and file your tax returns, as well as interact with attorneys, courts, banks and insurance companies. A properly drafted power of attorney is essential in protecting your assets against the cost of long-term care in the event you should become incapacitated.
Why Rockland County and New York State residents should invest in having a qualified lawyer develop their power of attorney forms
New York State law offers its residents a statutory form to authorize power of attorney. The fact that a form is available gives clients and inexperienced attorneys a false sense of security that, as long as they use the form, the client will be adequately protected. Without proper modifications, however, the statutory form is not sufficient. Investing in having a qualified attorney properly and adequately modify the New York State statutory power of attorney form can make all the difference between an effective and an ineffective document. Albert J. Kaiser has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of elder, trust, and estate law as well as having an LLM ( a masters degree for lawyers in taxation). He has an in-depth knowledge of the laws pertaining to power of attorney. Many lawyers offer to prepare a power of attorney, but few have the experience and know-how to make the tool work as effectively as possible.
Power of attorney issues Rockland County residents and U S citizens need to be aware of
Invariably, once an individual becomes incapacitated, long-term care planning becomes critically important. Unless the incapacitated person has a properly drafted and executed power of attorney, the individual will be unable to transfer assets or otherwise engage in any assets preservation planning. In such cases, he/she will be required to exhaust all his/her resources on the cost of care or will be required to bring guardianship proceedings to obtain court approval of any and all transfers. If the power of attorney has been properly prepared, the assignee will be able to move assets in a manner that best preserves the incapacitated person’s wealth and qualifies the incapacitated person for Medicaid. The key to maximizing your asset preservation is having a properly drafted power of attorney. Investing in a high-quality power of attorney is, dollar for dollar, one of the best investments you can make. Nursing homes currently cost between $10,000 – $15,000 a month. A guardianship proceeding can cost over $10,000 and during the time lost in bringing such a proceeding, the nursing home costs can continue to accrue. A properly drafted and executed power of attorney can be used to minimize or, in some instances, avoid these costs altogether. Albert J. Kaiser has been drafting powers of attorney for 30 years and is fully versed in the use of powers of attorney to minimized the cost of long-term care.
If you are a Rockland County or NYS resident and would like to schedule a no-obligation appointment to discuss a power of attorney with Albert J. Kaiser, please call his office at 845-634-3700.