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Pay them $30 to print out on archival or print myself?  Any negative points for doing this online vs going to a lawyer?  Any pros or cons for Legal zone?

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Send, I used both the DPOA and Living Will to handle financial transactions, rehab and hospital placement, pay bills and probably more that I've forgotten about - all based on unavailability due to (a) medically induced coma and (b) inability to speak because of a tracheostomy. I had no trouble whatsoever with any of the facilities.

Also had to use them to get past records from treating doctors.

I am so glad that I chose the attorney I chose - she was an outstanding attorney.
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I'm adamantly opposed to use of these forms unless the person has extensive legal background. That includes me; despite having worked in law for decades and worked in estate planning firms, I wouldn't even consider myself knowledgeable enough to draft either document, in part because I also do not have a very extensive knowledge of tax law.

Nor would I rely on a website unless it's Nolo, which I've found on the few occasions I've used it has some decent advice. I have not checked their forms though.

One of the major issues that would concern me is whether anyone needing who needs estate planning has any issues that he or she may not realize could be problematic and require special provisions. Another is that only the person who wants the documents drawn up has the best knowledge of his or her situation, and without sharing those kinds of details, may end up using a boiler plate form that really ignores or worse yet complicates a situation not addressed in the standardized documents.

I get e-mail newsletters from one of the firms for which I worked; there are a lot of changes and specific issues that really require the knowledge of someone who practices in the estate planning area, who keeps up to date on statutory changes and case law, and updates the documents regularly. Sometimes I can't even understand the statutory changes, let alone figure out how they impact our situation or how to integrate them into documents.

Ask yourself this: what do you want a POA for? Do you want a springing POA or DPOA? How much authority do you want to delegate? Do you want one proxy, and if so, what happens if that person becomes ill, unable to serve, or decides he/she no longer wants the responsibility?

Do you want joint proxies working together or with independent authority to act? Do you know what the pitfalls of each might be?

At the time we met with our attorney for my sister's and later my father's estate plans, I hadn't as much knowledge of DPOAs but was later glad that my attorney created a DPOA which I could use w/o declaration of incompetency. And I did have to use it, for very unexpected situations. She was very experienced and provided us with documents that covered a multitude of situations, including some which we never even conceived of.
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GA, so sorry you had to have a loved one go through that. And, I am happy for you that you have this amazing legal experience to help get you through the financials/legal of the process. Choosing the right attorney is difficult.
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Here is my take on on-line legal documents that aren't connected to some type of legal firm, such as Legal Zoom.

I believe that Legal Zoom fills out the legal documents associated with your State. There are other websites where you do it yourself, don't try to fill out the forms yourself.... one misplaced word or one missing word could create a landmine in the future.

Personally, I rather sit across a table from a local Elder Law Attorney that way I can ask 101 questions and there is no miscommunications. Yes, it will be expensive, but worth every penny in the long run. And if a year later I have more questions, I can go back in front of that same Attorney.

If money is an issue in what you can afford, on-line service is better than not having any Power of Attorney and Will in place.
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GardenArtist, Did not know that one could get the necessary documents required to take care of someone WITHOUT having them declared incompetent.

I am greatly encouraged by this news, maybe now I can research more and proceed to help my husband. (and I).
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I found my Elder Law Attorney right here on AgingCare.... under the MONEY & LEGAL section up on the blue bar. I put in my zip code on the attorney search section under Money & Legal and up popped a lot of names, then did some background research on the names and decided on one person who looked like the right fit. I was right.

I even got my parents to use the attorney [a young woman] as my Mom was from the old school that women shouldn't be attorneys, doctors, sports announcers, etc. but stay home to have babies... [sigh]. It all worked out :)
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