Disclaimer: This blog is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Every individual’s situation is unique, and estate planning decisions should be made based on personalized legal guidance. For advice tailored to your specific needs, please contact Blackburn Law for a free consultation at (727) 826-0923 or visit LifePlanLaw.com.
I am writing about a power of attorney, and there is a story I tell my clients about why I hope they waste their money on one.
It goes like this.
Years ago, I had a sailboat—a 22-foot Catalina, if you care. I was standing in the marine store buying life jackets for the boat.
A friend said to me, “Why are you buying $35 life jackets when there are $5 ones over there?” Times have changed, and so has the price of life jackets.
I said, “You want to waste your money on these.”
Why did I want to waste my money on life jackets? Because I hoped I would never have to put one on.
But if I needed a life jacket on a sailboat, I really needed it. I needed it to save my life.
A power of attorney is similar to a life jacket. If you need it, you really need it.
How a Power of Attorney Works
A power of attorney appoints someone—your “agent”—to act on your behalf in financial and contract matters. See Florida Statutes section 709.2201 (2026).
With a power of attorney, your agent can access your bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement accounts.
The agent, however, does not own your accounts. He or she can only do things on your behalf.
With a power of attorney, your agent can interact on your behalf with insurance companies. The agent can file your taxes.
The agent can collect an inheritance you receive from someone else’s estate and can sell your car or buy you a car.
Your agent can bring a claim or lawsuit on your behalf or defend a claim or lawsuit brought against you. Your agent can sign you up for government or military benefits.
Importantly, a power of attorney does not work for Social Security.
These are all very important matters. But there is more.
Florida “Super Powers”
In Florida, powers of attorney should contain what lawyers call the “super powers.”
These are powers that you—the person who creates the power of attorney, called the “principal”—must initial separately.
If you do not initial these powers, they are not effective. See Florida Statutes section 709.2202 (2026).
The “super powers” are most often used when something catastrophic happens and someone needs to apply for Medicaid nursing-home care on your behalf.
Elder law attorneys can get virtually anyone qualified for Medicaid in a nursing home. However, they need to move your assets around to get you qualified. See “Can I Qualify for Medicaid.”
The “super powers” let your agent move your assets in order to qualify for Medicaid.
Moving your assets can include giving your assets to a spouse. Do not give your assets to anyone else to try to qualify for Medicaid; it will disqualify you instead.
It can include creating a “qualified income trust,” or QIT, if your monthly income exceeds the Medicaid limit.
It can also include putting assets, such as bank accounts or real estate, in joint names or taking them out of joint names.
Very, very importantly in today’s world, the power-of-attorney “super powers” include allowing your agent to access your digital accounts and devices.
Without this power, it is a crime for someone to access your digital accounts and devices.
When a Power of Attorney Is Effective
The authority granted in a power of attorney is not automatic to anyone.
A spouse cannot access or manage your assets just because you are married.
A beneficiary receives assets only after you die. He or she cannot access your assets while you are living.
There is an exception for a joint owner, who can access jointly owned bank and investment accounts. A joint owner, however, cannot sell your home alone.
In Florida, a power of attorney is effective when you sign it. See Florida Statutes section 709.2108 (2026).
It does not, and cannot legally, wait until you are incapacitated.
If you do not want your agent to be able to use your power of attorney unless you are incapacitated, do not give it to the agent. A person cannot use what they do not have.
Keep your power of attorney with your estate-planning documents. If someone needs to use it, they can look through your estate-planning documents to find it.
As I said at the beginning of this article, I hope you never need to use the power of attorney. But if you need it, you really need it.
A Power of Attorney Ends When You Die
A power of attorney expires when you die. See Florida Statutes section 709.2109(1)(a) (2026).
After a person dies, the power of attorney cannot be used.
This is a common misunderstanding, and your family will be very surprised if they think they can access your assets after your death by using a power of attorney.
A Power of Attorney Can Keep You Out of Guardianship
If you become incapacitated without a health-care surrogate designation and power of attorney, you may very well end up in a guardianship. See Florida Statutes sections 744.331(6)(b) and 744.334(1) (2026).
A guardianship most often takes away all of your rights. It is expensive to initiate. It is also expensive and cumbersome to maintain.
The guardianship is court-supervised, and your guardian must account to the court for everything they do.
Often, taking action on your behalf requires prior court approval.
See Florida Courts: Guardianship.
Check Your Power of Attorney
If you already have a power of attorney, make sure it includes the “super powers.”
Many self-prepared powers of attorney do not include them. Look for a series of powers that require initials. If you do not find these in your power of attorney, you do not have them.
If your power of attorney includes the “super powers,” make sure you initialed them. If you did not initial them, they are not effective.
Do Not Wait for an Emergency
I believe everyone needs a power of attorney.
I do not know anyone who can predict whether circumstances will make them unable to manage one or more of their affairs.
If you wait until you are unable to manage your affairs, it may be too late to prepare a power of attorney.
You must have the mental capacity to understand what a power of attorney does and be able to approve someone to act as your agent in order to create one.
A catastrophic car crash can take away your mental capacity. A stroke can do the same.
Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease more slowly takes away your mental capacity, but it will eventually take away your mental capacity.
Do not wait for an emergency. Waste your money on a power of attorney now.
If you have an emergency, act immediately to create a power of attorney before you lose mental capacity.
