Lost my mother last year, and my dad is eager to get his will updated.
We met with a lawyer, the Estate Planning type.
In addition to the Will he suggested Durable Power of Attorney and Power of Attorney for Incompetence.
I never thought about those, but it is VERY obvious after the lawyer mentioned it.

Everyone knows they are going to pass on, but it probably not going to be like flipping a light switch, so there are other contingencies to prepare for.  Mental capacity or illness, mostly.

Durable Power of Attorney - for if / when he becomes incapacitated someone can be designated to handle general financial matters such as mortgages or other payments.
Incompetence or incapacity - Another Power of attorney for if / when he lacks the mental capacity to understand and make informed decisions regarding their personal and financial affairs.



If or when these things happen, he has already designated who can act on his behalf and what his wishes are, like if he does not want to spend long time on life support and other quality of life wishes.

Better to get this settled now than have the court decide when it is happening.  This is cheaper, and more importantly, helps ensure that his wishes are carried out.
I really liked the lawyer and think it is probably worth the 800 plus dollars.

Not fun stuff, but I feel VERY good about doing this.  My Grandparents and my mother had wills, but there were some complications towards the end when they were in the dying stage of life (sick, mostly incapacitated for weeks or months).  Paying their bills and being able to move funds from retirement accounts is necessary and DIFFICULT or expensive if no one is designated to do so.

Immedient family is just my sister and myself, there are few close relatives, and probably not a ton of $$$ or valuable items to be inherited.
Nothing is bullet proof, but I think this will make things go smoother,


I recommend everyone do this before it is too late.

Agree, I have this discussion weekly with families. A couple of other things - Understand the probate process(if required) in your State(There may be other options), The potential benefits of a living trust, Have a general idea of assets, etc.
The best advice I would give is to consult a competent estate attorney.

Some famous guy said plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.

AVOID PROBATE if possible.  A trust is usually the best way to do that.

With a trust, the nanosecond the trustor passes, the heirs inherit everything.  Probate is designed to make probate lawyers rich.  Also, wills can be public documents, trusts are private.

Amen.  

Also worth mentioning that there are some account/services that do rot recognize your power of attorney and require their own.  IIRC, it was something to do with the IRS or social security.  I have POA forms for my mom, all filled out, signed, and notarized.  Whichever one of these government agencies it was would not accept it because they have their own version of the form.

OMG, Fvcking retarded. POA is POA.  Lawyers make work for other lawyers.
Good thing you are up to speed on it.
Good reminder to double check these things with my dad's financial advisor.

Tag.

Medicaid Asset Protection Trust is another thing to consider...looking in to it myself.