Practice Areas
Powers of Attorney
Overview
Most estate plans prepare for death and overlook a harder scenario, in which a person is still alive but cannot sign a check, talk to a doctor, or close on a house. Powers of attorney and advance medical directives fill that gap by naming someone to act, and they can spare a family a trip to court.
Eris Law Group prepares financial powers of attorney and advance medical directives for individuals and families in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The attorney helps each client decide who should act and how much authority that person should hold. Our estate planning rates are published on our website.
How to Get Power of Attorney and an Advance Medical Directive
Power of attorney comes from the person granting it, called the principal, who signs a document naming an agent while still able to understand what the document does. No one can get power of attorney over someone else after that person loses capacity without a court proceeding for guardianship or conservatorship.
Types of Powers of Attorney
Powers of attorney are not one document. Financial decisions and medical decisions are handled separately, and a plan with only one of them leaves the other half unanswered at the moment it matters.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A durable financial power of attorney, often simply called a power of attorney, names an agent to handle banking, real estate, taxes, insurance, and other financial or legal needs. The term “durable” means the authority survives the principal’s incapacity, which is the reason the document exists. Generally, a power of attorney is durable unless it says otherwise, so the agent can keep acting without going to court.
Advance Medical Directive
An advance medical directive, which may include a health care power of attorney, a living will, or both, names who makes treatment decisions if the principal is incapacitated and records the principal’s own instructions for end-of-life care.
An advance medical directive often comes with a HIPAA release, which lets the principal name people who can access their medical records. It may also include a designation of agent for final arrangements, which lets the principal name who will handle any burial, cremation, and funeral arrangements and record any specific wishes the principal may have for their final arrangements.
Limited or Special Powers of Attorney
A limited power of attorney narrows the agent’s authority to one transaction or one window of time. A client might use one to have an agent sign at a real estate closing or handle specific accounts during a deployment. The appeal is control, since the agent can do only what the document lists, and the authority can end after a set period.
Springing vs. Immediate Powers
A medical agent can act only if the principal is incapacitated, but a financial agent has more options. A springing power of attorney takes effect only after a stated event, usually the principal’s incapacity, while an immediate power takes effect when signed. Springing powers feel safer, but someone has to certify the incapacity first. This usually requires a written determination from one or more physicians or a court order, which can take time. Some married couples use a hybrid approach, naming each other as immediate agents, while successor agents can act only if the spouse is unable to serve and the principal is incapacitated.
Choosing an Agent
Choosing an agent (after a spouse) often defaults to the oldest child, which is a habit rather than a rule. What matters is competence with money and records, willingness to take on the job, and being reachable when something happens.
A principal can name co-agents and decide whether they must act together or may act alone. In Virginia and D.C., co-agents may each act independently unless the document requires otherwise. Requiring joint action adds a check but can stall a transaction when one agent is traveling. Successor agents step in if the first choice cannot serve. The right financial agent and the right medical agent are often two different people.
Changing or Revoking a Power of Attorney or Advance Medical Directive
These documents can be revoked at any time while the principal has capacity. Revocation requires a written revocation, notice to the agent, and notice to every bank, hospital, doctor’s office, or institution holding a copy of the old document. That last step matters because an entity that acts in good faith without knowing about the revocation is protected.
Revocation comes up most often when the principal stops trusting the named agent or files for divorce from a spouse who holds the role. In Virginia, filing for divorce ends a spouse-agent’s authority automatically as both the medical agent and financial agent, unless the document says otherwise.
In D.C., filing for divorce automatically ends a spouse-agent’s authority as financial agent. Their authority as medical agent ends only when the divorce is final. Either rule applies unless the document says otherwise.
Whether or not the authority ends automatically, the principal still needs to name a replacement and formally revoke or amend the document so third parties who don’t know about the divorce aren’t confused.
Our Process:
How We Work Together
Estate planning at Eris Law Group follows a streamlined, modern process. Communication happens through efficient electronic systems and direct conversations with the attorney; clients receive clear guidance at each stage of drafting and implementation.
- Step 1: The Strategy Session
The strategy session is an initial consultation that covers who should make financial decisions, who should make medical ones, and how much authority each person should carry. The attorney recommends the documents that fit and quotes the fee before the meeting ends. - Step 2: Custom Drafting & Review
After engagement, the client will be sent an intake form to gather specific information (such as names, addresses, and medical decisions, etc). After the client submits the intake, the attorney will review and follow up with the client as needed. Once the attorney has the information needed, the documents are drafted and sent to the client for review. Our firm always prepares a summary of the documents to guide the client in their review. The client can then ask questions, request changes, or schedule a draft review to go over the documents with the attorney. After the draft review, the documents will be finalized, and the client can schedule a signing. - Step 3: Implementation & Support
Signing requires witnesses and a notary in person, and an appointment can be scheduled in our office. In addition to answering questions, we provide guides to help clients share the documents with their financial institutions, doctors, and agents.
Meet Our Attorneys
Why Choose Eris Law Group for Powers of Attorney?
Our estate planning rates are published, and drafting and review run electronically, which matters for documents people put off because they expect the process to be a hassle. Amanda Plant leads the firm’s estate planning practice and works exclusively in estate matters.
We regularly plan for LGBTQIA+ couples, blended families, federal employees, and military families, including clients whose chosen agents live in another state or overseas.
Trusted. Recognized. Respected.
Frequently Asked Questions About Powers of Attorney and Advance Medical Directives
You choose your agent in a power of attorney or advance medical directive. You also provide guidance and limits on the types of financial, legal, and medical decisions that can be made. A court appoints a guardian or conservator after you have already lost capacity and provides limits on the powers that can be exercised. The first is a document, and the second is a case.
No. No one can make or change a will on your behalf. Your agent can make gifts or create or fund a trust only if your document expressly grants that authority.
Generally, yes. Both jurisdictions recognize documents validly signed elsewhere, but a particular bank or hospital may still push back. Because many people in the DMV area travel between Virginia and D.C., we account for this when drafting the documents.
Either document ends when you revoke it, when you die, at any expiration date written into it, or by court order. After death, your financial agent has no authority, and your executor or personal representative, and any trustee, takes over.
Yes. You decide whether co-agents must act together or may act alone. Joint authority adds a check, but it can stall a decision the moment one agent is unreachable. You can also name successor agents who serve only if your primary agent is unable to serve.
Insights & Resources
Name the Right People Before You Need To
A power of attorney and advance medical directive work only if you sign them while you still can. Once capacity is gone, the choice of who acts belongs to a court. Planning now keeps that decision with you.