Naming your son or daughter to handle your finances if you become sick can seem like one of the simplest decisions in retirement planning. You trust them, they know where you bank, and they’re probably the person who would step in during an emergency anyway. But a financial power of attorney can give someone significant authority over bank accounts, investments, bills, property, and other assets, depending on how the document is written. The Department of Justice warns that powers of attorney give agents substantial access to money and property without the routine oversight that comes with some other fiduciary arrangements. The problems families discover later often aren’t about whether Mom trusted her daughter; they’re about exactly what Mom authorized her daughter to do.
