Taylor is a 29-year-old veteran in rural East Texas. She lives on a small veterans benefit check in a modest apartment with her young daughter. She called Lone Star Legal Aid because she needed a Durable Power of Attorney, or DPOA.
The purpose of a DPOA is to allow you to designate a person to take care of your person and your finances if you become unable to do so. This is different from a general power of attorney because it will not take effect until you become disabled and cannot take care of your matters on your own.
Taylor spoke to paralegal Ann Marie Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez explained the legal alternatives available under Texas law—specific guidance provided by our attorneys to ensure the client receives accurate advice about POAs. Ms. Rodriguez also explained how a DPOA could take effect only upon a doctor’s confirmation of Taylor’s incapacity — and clarified that Taylor could revoke it at any time by notifying both the agent and any institution relying on it.
After she understood Taylor’s situation and consulted with the managing attorney of LSLA’s Central Intake Unit, Ms. Rodriguez offered Taylor a DPOA template and instructions.“Once you complete this document, in order for your agent to act when you become incapacitated, they must have in their possession your DPOA,” the instructions read.
Rodriguez also provided a form for revoking the durable power of attorney:
“If you later decide you do not want that person to act for you, then you may revoke the durable power of attorney by providing written notice to whomever is relying on the DPOA as authority for the agent to act on your behalf as well as to your appointed agent (attorney-in-fact) that you are withdrawing your appointment and authority for the agent to act on your behalf. A DPOA revocation form is also attached.”
Many people complete the DPOA form so that someone can act on their behalf to pay bills and withdraw money from bank accounts or sell property etc., in the event that you cannot do that or yourself. This will allow decisions to be made for you that will affect your person as well as your estate.
It will allow another person to act for you without having to go to court and become your guardian through a court proceeding. You should consider carefully the power that you are granting and understand that if actions are taken when you become unable to act for yourself (incapacitated) and later you become able to make your own decisions, the actions taken during your incapacity are legally binding to you.
With the support of Lone Star Legal Aid, Taylor now has the tools and knowledge to safeguard her future. She is moving forward with executing a DPOA that will allow a trusted person to make decisions on her behalf in the event she becomes incapacitated—providing peace of mind and added stability for both herself and her child.
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org