Powers of Attorney & Advance Directives in Maryland
Planning Ahead for Financial and Health Care Decisions
Many guardianship cases begin after something has already changed. A parent develops dementia. An illness or injury leaves someone unable to manage financial affairs. A family suddenly needs authority to make medical decisions and discovers that no one has clearly been given that authority.
Planning ahead can make those situations easier.
A power of attorney and an advance directive allow you to make important choices while you are able to make them—including whom you trust to act for you if you later need help.
At Law Office of Shelly Maynard Ingram, we prepare Maryland powers of attorney and advance directives for clients who want to put those decisions in place before a crisis occurs. Our focus is on preserving your choices and creating a practical structure for future decision-making.
Call (240) 652-2596 to speak with our team about putting these documents in place. Prefer to start online? You can also contact us through our website or use our online chat.
What Is a Maryland Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document that allows you—the principal—to give another person, called an agent, authority to act on your behalf.
The authority you give your agent depends on the document. A power of attorney may provide authority to handle financial accounts, pay bills, manage property, deal with government benefits, address insurance matters, or take other financial and legal actions authorized by the document.
Maryland law provides statutory power-of-attorney forms that can be used to grant financial authority to an agent.
Choosing an agent is an important decision. The person you appoint may have substantial authority over your finances and property, so the document should reflect both the authority you want to provide and the person you trust to exercise it.
What Is an Advance Directive?
An advance directive addresses health care decision-making.
It can allow you to name a health care agent to make health care decisions if you become unable to make those decisions yourself. It can also provide instructions concerning your preferences for medical care in particular circumstances.
An advance directive gives you an opportunity to decide in advance who should speak for you and to provide guidance about the decisions you would want that person to make.
Can a Power of Attorney or Advance Directive Prevent Guardianship?
Sometimes.
One reason guardianship becomes necessary is that an individual can no longer make certain decisions and no one else has adequate legal authority to act.
A properly prepared power of attorney may provide authority for an agent to handle financial matters. An advance directive may provide authority for a health care agent to make medical decisions. If those documents provide the authority that is needed and the appointed agents are able and willing to act, court-appointed guardianship may not be necessary.
But having a power of attorney or advance directive does not guarantee that guardianship will never be needed. Circumstances may arise that the documents do not adequately address, an agent may be unable or unwilling to serve, or disputes may develop concerning the agent's authority or conduct.
[Learn More About Adult Guardianship in Maryland ->]
Choosing the People Who Will Act for You
These documents are ultimately about more than forms. They allow you to decide who you trust to act for you rather than leaving that decision to be made during a crisis.
The right person to handle financial matters is not necessarily the same person you would choose to make health care decisions. Some clients choose the same individual for both roles. Others choose different people based on their relationships, abilities, and circumstances.
We talk with clients about the authority they are granting and the people they are considering so that the documents reflect the decisions the client actually wants to make.
Preserving Your Choices Before Circumstances Change
Our broader approach to guardianship and incapacity matters begins with a simple question: what can be preserved?
When you plan while you have capacity, much more can be. You can identify the people you trust. You can decide what authority they should have. You can communicate health care preferences. And you can create a structure that allows someone to step in when necessary without automatically requiring a family member to ask a court for authority.
No document can anticipate every future circumstance. But thoughtful planning can preserve choices that may become much harder to make after incapacity occurs.
When Broader Estate Planning Is Appropriate
Powers of attorney and advance directives are often part of a broader estate plan.
Our firm's practice in this area is intentionally focused on incapacity and decision-making planning. We prepare Maryland powers of attorney and advance directives, including documents based on Maryland's statutory forms.
We do not prepare wills or trusts or provide comprehensive estate or tax planning.
Some powers of attorney can also raise broader estate-planning questions—for example, when a client wants an agent to have authority involving significant gifts, trusts, beneficiary designations, retirement assets, tax planning, or other actions that could affect the client's estate plan.
When a client's goals extend into those areas, we recommend involving qualified estate-planning counsel. Where appropriate, we can coordinate with that attorney so that the client's incapacity planning and broader estate plan work together.
What If Someone Already Has a Power of Attorney but There Is a Problem?
The existence of a power of attorney does not always prevent disputes.
Questions can arise about what authority the document gives the agent, whether the document remains effective, whether an institution must accept it, or whether an agent is acting appropriately.
Concerns about an agent's conduct can also become relevant when a family is considering whether guardianship or other court intervention is necessary.
If an existing power of attorney or advance directive is part of a developing guardianship or family dispute, we can review the circumstances and help determine what legal options may be available.
[Learn More About Contested Guardianship & Guardianship Disputes ->]
How We Can Help
You do not need to wait until someone is experiencing serious incapacity to think about who should have authority to help.
We work with clients who want to put straightforward financial and health care decision-making documents in place as well as families trying to understand whether existing documents are sufficient after circumstances have changed.
Our goal is to help preserve your ability to make these choices for yourself whenever possible—and to help families build an appropriate legal structure when existing planning is no longer enough.
Talk With Our Team About Planning Ahead
If you want to put a Maryland power of attorney or advance directive in place, or if you are trying to determine whether an existing document provides the authority your family needs, call (240) 652-2596 to speak with our team.
We can learn a little about what you need and help identify the appropriate next step. Prefer to start online? Contact us through our website or use our online chat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having a power of attorney prevent the need for guardianship?
It can, but not always. A properly prepared power of attorney may give an agent authority to manage financial or legal matters, while an advance directive may provide authority for a health care agent to make medical decisions. If those documents provide the authority that is needed and the chosen agents can act, guardianship may not be necessary. Guardianship can still become necessary if the documents do not address the problem, the agent cannot serve, or a dispute develops.
What is the difference between a power of attorney and guardianship?
The biggest difference is who chooses the decision-maker and when. With a power of attorney, you choose an agent and decide what authority to give that person while you have capacity to make those choices. With guardianship, a court becomes involved after a person needs protection or decision-making assistance and determines whether guardianship is necessary, who should serve, and what authority the guardian should have. Planning ahead can preserve choices that may no longer be available after incapacity occurs.