3 Tips for Success to Keep In Mind When Selecting an Agent for Your Power of Attorney or Medical Directive

This article will cover 3 great tips for how to select agents for your Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive. It’s normal to be concerned in estate planning with selecting appropriate people to serve in those roles so, I’m going to give you some tips on how to choose those people in your life.

Logistics

The first tip I have is a logistical tip. You need to make a decision as to whether you want people to serve in order, in succession or all together, i.e. jointly. Sometimes people approach me and they have three children and they say, “I love and trust all my children equally. I just want all three of them to have responsibility.” And I say, “Okay. That’s perfectly valid and legitimate but let’s consider this scenario that plays out when you’re gone.”

If you’re appointing people to have equal co-authority, then there’s the potential for people to disagree. And so you could be setting people up to disagree. That’s why I find it preferable to appoint people to serve as little generals and serve in succession.

This means that most likely, your kids are going to consult amongst themselves and make their opinions known, but at the end of the day, one child will have the authority to make a decision and move forward without being forced to a standstill by any additional objections or complaints or disagreements. So make sure that you consider whether you want to name your agents in succession or jointly.

Age is Key

The next tip is that age matters. Many young couples who just had a new baby or have had a few children come to me and say, “Well, our parents did such a good job raising us and we love them so much and they’re so responsible and we’re so impressed with them that we want them to be our trustees, executors etc.” And that’s fine. It is completely understandable. But you need to consider the fact that these documents that you’re setting up might only be applicable ten, twenty, or thirty years in the future. And so if you are considering naming your parents in a fiduciary capacity, I would just suggest that you consider naming someone who’s younger than your parents in addition.

If you are in the circumstance where your parents are gone and you have adult children, your adult children are ideal to serve as fiduciaries. They’re younger than you, you know who they are, their known qualities, and you love and trust them.

That’s obviously ideal for people with children but if you don’t have children, what should you do then? Maybe you’re looking around and you’re saying, “I’ve got a sister and a really close friend, who should I appoint?” Well, we can consider and talk about either and both of those people on how to include them in your plan, but it’s also important to consider someone in a younger generation so that we’re sure that there’s going to be someone to serve after you’re gone. This is why it’s critically important that you consider age when you’re thinking about selecting your agents.

Good Judgement Over Everything Else

Finally, my last tip for you is that judgement is more important than blood. And what do I mean by that? By blood I mean your kin. And these people are important and most of the time, they’re going to be the people that have the best knowledge of your circumstances, the best knowledge of your wishes, and they’re going to know where everything is. And so in most cases, your family members are going to be the best people to appoint as your agent.

However, there are some circumstances where you may not trust their judgement, such as them not sharing values that are in line with yours. There may be a reason that causes you to go, “Hmm… maybe not.”

Then, you need to consider how important judgement is when you’re considering who you’re going to have serve as a fiduciary. And you really want someone who’s going to know what kind of medical treatment you want, whether or not to pull the plug, how to invest your money, how to raise your kids, how to distribute your assets and more.

You want someone who has intimate knowledge of your affairs. And if that person is not blood, that’s okay. If you trust their judgement, if you know that they’re going to be the one who’s going to be the best person to serve in that capacity, that’s totally fine.

There are additional protections we might want to talk about in the consultation about how to plan for potential fiduciary malfeasance but it is completely fine if you don’t have a family member who you trust above everyone else in the world to serve in a fiduciary capacity. It’s okay to consider someone that is not blood. So that’s my final tip for you. Judgement is more important than blood.

Start the Process Today

Interested in getting started on the process of naming your agents? Need help deciding on who you should be your agents? Schedule a consultation with Misha Gill today by calling him directly (703) 553-2577 or sending an email to [email protected].