More on financial powers of attorney

As of September 1, 2010, Wisconsin has an all-new financial power of attorney law--new statutes and new state form. I introduced the new legislative act shortly after it became effective, and I will include more detailed posts about various aspects of the law.

For an extensive explanation, see this article in the June 2010 Wisconsin Lawyer magazine (the Wisconsin state bar's official publication). I wrote the article's sidebar about the new law's state form.

Powers of attorney must be on people's minds lately. See this "ask the expert" column from the New York Times' blog about aging. Although the answer to the question may be correct in some states, it is not entirely correct under Wisconsin's new law. In Wisconsin, coagents can act independently unless the power of attorney specifies otherwise. As in most cases, legal questions have many nuances and an inquiry with an attorney in the relevant state is very helpful.