Your Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney are important parts of your estate plan — but these documents should not simply be signed and forgotten.

Your Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney are important parts of your estate plan because they authorize trusted people to make financial and medical decisions for you if you are unable to act for yourself — but these documents should not simply be signed and forgotten. Reviewing and updating them every few years helps ensure that the people you named are still the right choices, that their contact information and circumstances have not changed, and that the documents reflect your current wishes and comply with current Washington law. Updating older powers of attorney can also help avoid practical problems with banks, financial institutions, hospitals, and other organizations that may be hesitant to rely on documents that are many years old. Life changes such as marriage, divorce, the death or incapacity of an agent, changes in family relationships, or significant changes in your finances are also good reasons to review these documents sooner. A periodic estate plan review gives you the opportunity to make sure your Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney will work the way you intend when they are actually needed. If it has been several years since you reviewed your estate planning documents, contact the Law Offices of P. Stephen Aita, PLLC at 253.858.5434 to schedule a consultation and make sure your plan remains up to date.