Estate Planning · Powers of attorney
Who manages your money if you can't. In a form Missouri banks will accept.
A durable financial power of attorney names the person who pays your bills, manages your accounts and deals with your property if you're incapacitated. Without one, your family goes to court. With the wrong one, they get turned away at the bank.
What Missouri requires
Missouri's statute (RSMo 404.705) is specific, and banks know it. A financial power of attorney is durable, meaning it keeps working after you lose capacity, only if it:
- Is titled a "Durable Power of Attorney" or otherwise clearly says it is one.
- Says in the document that it survives your incapacity.
- Is signed, dated and acknowledged before a notary, the same way a deed is.
Many out-of-state forms, and most free internet forms, miss one of these. The result is a document that looks fine until the day your agent needs it.
What we draft
- A durable financial power of attorney that meets the statute
- Specific authority for real estate, accounts, retirement plans, taxes, insurance, digital accounts and gifts, so no bank can say "it doesn't mention that"
- A first agent and at least one alternate
- Your choice of effective immediately or only on incapacity, with the trade-offs explained
- A health care power of attorney and directive to go with it
Available on its own for a flat fee, or as part of every estate plan.
Choosing your agent
The document matters less than the person.
Pick for judgment, not seniority
The oldest child is not automatically the right choice. You want someone organized, honest, and willing to ask for help.
One at a time
Two agents who must act together is a recipe for a stalled account. Name one, then an alternate.
Tell them
Your agent should know they've been named, where the document is, and what you'd want. We give you a summary to hand them.
Revisit it
Agents move, age, and fall out of touch. The yearly review in the Maintenance Plan checks that your choices still make sense.
Without one
If you lose capacity and no valid power of attorney exists, someone has to ask the probate court to appoint a conservator to manage your finances and, often, a guardian for personal decisions. It's public, it takes months, it costs more than any power of attorney, and the court, not you, picks the person. A signed, notarized document avoids all of it.
How we charge
Flat fee, quoted in writing on the first call. Powers of attorney are included in every estate plan and available on their own.
Common questions
General information about Missouri law, not advice about your situation.
Does a power of attorney let my agent change my will?
No. An agent manages your affairs while you're alive; a will controls what happens after. Gifts by an agent are limited to what the document specifically allows.
When does it end?
At your death, or when you revoke it. After death, your personal representative or successor trustee takes over, not your agent.
The bank says it wants its own form. Do I have to use it?
Banks sometimes prefer their own forms, and we can add one where it helps. A properly drafted Missouri durable power of attorney is valid without it; we'll help if an institution balks.
Should it take effect now or only if I'm incapacitated?
Both are allowed. "Only on incapacity" feels safer but requires a doctor's letter before the agent can act, which can delay things when they matter most. Many clients choose immediate effect with an agent they trust. We talk it through.
Related services
Name the person. Sign it properly.
A free 15-minute call is all it takes to get started.