Parents Need to See Their Children Realistically When Signing a Power of Attorney
BY LYNNE BUTLER
Not long ago , as I picked up my lunch from a drive-thru , I paid for the food being bought by the people in the car behind mine . When I mentioned this to a friend , she said , “ but what ’ s stopping the clerk from pocketing the money and still charging the next car for their meal ?” I suppose nothing is stopping the clerk from doing that , but I was ( and still am ) prepared to take the chance .
All I stood to lose in this particular transaction was less than $ 10 . I would certainly have a different attitude if the potential loss was greater . Can you imagine taking this kind of unprotected leap of faith if the money you handed to the clerk was every cent you own ?
And yet , this is done every day . People carelessly hand over access to everything they own and will ever own by signing powers of attorney . Not enough importance is placed on the fact that this extremely powerful document is often abused , causing losses that can be anywhere from inconvenient to catastrophic .
I know what you are thinking . You are thinking that the risk is greater when you put
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