Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is a legal document in which you authorize individual(s) to manage your financial affairs. The authority passes either as soon as you sign the document (“immediate”), or upon a determination by doctors that you are unable to manage your financial affairs (“springing”). Designate only those individuals you trust. A DPOA is a powerful document and one that may lead to financial exploitation.

Guardian is a person appointed by the Probate Court who is legally responsible for someone who is unable to manage their own affairs, especially an incompetent or disabled person or a child whose parents have died.

Health Care Proxy (HCP) is a legal document in which you designate an individual or agent to make decisions about your medical treatment only if you are unable to do so. Your agent voices your wishes for medical care when you cannot. Any Health Care Proxy executed prior to 1996 does not include a HIPAA release and should be updated.

HIPAA is intended to protect a patient’s medical information from being disclosed without the patient’s written permission. A HIPAA Release provides written permission for your medical personnel to share your medical information with those individuals you designate. The Release does NOT grant decision-making authority. Any Health Care Proxy executed prior to 1996 does not include a HIPAA release and should be updated.

Homestead seeks to protect you from having to sell your home to satisfy a judgment or creditor’s lien. A Homestead is a document filed with the Registry of Deeds in the County where the real estate is located. The document provides creditor protection of the equity in the home. Such creditor protection does NOT extend to liens imposed by Federal or Massachusetts tax authorities, or MassHealth/Medicaid. An Elder Homestead affords even greater protection to a property owner over the age of 62.

Irrevocable Trust is the type of trust in which the trust terms cannot be modified, amended or terminated without the permission of those named as beneficiaries. The individual who created and funded the trust cannot exert direct control over the irrevocable trust.