Colliton

As they — and you — grow older, you might have other questions. Who should serve as agent under power of attorney or health care power? Who should be executor or executrix? If you have only two children many parents agonize over who should serve or should both children serve together. In choosing executor or executrix, parents worry choosing one over another will cause the “losing” party to be angry at them. This occurs even though parents realize they will be dead at the time and not know whether the party who is “second” is angry. Also, maybe the one appointed would rather not serve.

First, to put your mind at rest. No one is the perfect agent under financial power of attorney or health care power. No one is the perfect executor and there is no test to prove one way or another. This may mean that the cure for indecision is indeed to decide.

In making the decision whether to appoint more than one person to serve together as agent under power of attorney or executor it might help to know that banks and financial institutions do not favor joint agents or joint executors. One alternative is to name one and then the other as successor. Sometimes parents name one as financial power of attorney and executor and the other as health care power and reverse the order for successors. This could cover everyone.

Decision making can be risky and sometimes frightening but this is the saving factor. You can always change your mind.

If the circumstances under which you appointed someone as executor or power of attorney change, you can change the documents. Often I see decision makers almost paralyzed by the possibility they could make a mistake. I would advise almost everyone, actually everyone, makes mistakes. This is why there is the possibility of rewrite.

The documents you prepare are intended to protect and cradle you through the difficult periods of your life. They are not intended to limit you. If you look at it this way, decision making with estate documents should make it easier, not more stressful. Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and limits her practice to elder law, retirement and estate planning, Medicaid, Medicare, life care and special needs at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 610-436-6674, colliton@ collitonlaw.com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, cofounder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs. Tune in on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. to radio WCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead,” with Janet Colliton, Colliton Elder Law Associates, and Phil McFadden, Home Instead Senior Care.