As you grow up and pave your own path, such as moving out, pursuing your career, and maybe even starting your own family, you end up spending less time with your parents. Before you know it, they’ve grown older and are now considered senior citizens.
While they don’t always expect you to be there for them, you want your elderly parents to have a comfortable future even without being present in their life all time. It will help them to have a power of attorney (POA) to secure their future with the help of a solicitor or lawyer.
With a POA, your parents can depend on someone else to take the lead on their behalf, such as helping them pay bills on time, make medical decisions, and do other crucial tasks. Keep reading below to find out more reasons to consider getting a POA for your aging parents.
Importance of Having a Power of Attorney
When you seek a power of attorney for your parents, you grant them peace of mind because they have a legal specialist handle their affairs for them. It could be temporary, such as having someone manage their bills and errands while your parents are away on a trip, or permanent, which involves handling medical decisions during an accident.
Nothing can stop your parents from getting old, so it’s best to prepare for possible health issues, starting with watching over their health and receiving help from a law centre that offers a POA. As much as possible, you shouldn’t wait until the last minute when it might be too late.
Why Would My Parents Need a Power of Attorney
They Have Financial Trouble
You can’t expect your parents to know their financial responsibilities all the time, especially when they’re getting older by the minute. With a POA, someone else can help take care of their bills, debts, and due payments to ensure your parents’ finances are in check.
When your parents fail to address their obligations, they could end up facing more expenses than before. It could put them at risk if they’re already struggling to maintain a budget and they become unsure of what to address first that requires their immediate attention.
They Have a Long-Term Illness
If one or both of your elder parents face a chronic health condition, the more reasons for them to obtain a POA to assist with settling their affairs for them while they strive to get better. A POA works for terminal and non-terminal illnesses.
Say your parent has cancer and needs to go through chemotherapy. While they’re focusing on their sessions, a POA will take over and keep track of important matters to help them stop worrying and think of nothing else but their health. After they go on remission, the POA will be revoked without problems.
They Have Memory Loss
One of the common illnesses that seniors can face is Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia. If your parents are diagnosed with the sickness, you or a POA can take over their affairs to ensure their responsibilities are intact as their situation dwindles little by little.
Before the situation gets worse, fixing the paperwork and acquiring the necessary signatures helps set things in place and assures your parents are in good care. That way, their memory impairment won’t prevent them from guaranteeing their life remains well-managed.
Conclusion
With a power of attorney in place, your aging parents don’t have to take on life on their own anymore, and you don’t have to face the burden with all the priorities you must attend to daily. It helps your parents deal with their affairs without struggle, especially if they face financial trouble, a long-term illness, or memory loss.
Are you looking to hire a will and estate lawyer in Queensland, Australia, that caters to a power of attorney? Springfield Legals is a law firm specialising in family law, property, business conveyancing, income protection, and succession planning. Get in touch with us today to speak to one of our lawyers!