I was recently asked to arrange a Trust for clients. Everything went smoothly. The instructions were taken, the documents drafted and the final versions were prepared ready to sign.
The clients really wanted to get the Trust in place to give their family the extra protection the Trust provides.
So we were all set to go until we had a real setback; the husband took seriously ill and was hospitalised and in an induced coma.
Under different circumstances we would have been stymied. However, the clients had wisely set up Powers of Attorney (POA’s). That meant his wife could sign on his behalf. So we were able to go ahead and arrange the Trust despite the difficulty.
Fortunately, the husband is now recovering.
Most people think a POA is only for when you lose capacity completely – if you contract dementia for instance.
But, like here, it can also come into play when someone has lost their capacity temporarily.
Clients keep saying to me, “You never know what is round the corner”. You will hear me quote that a lot.
Here’s a typical example of that being the case. Fortunately the clients had planned to meet any eventualities that could arise and the POA saved the day.