Asset Management and Power of Attorney
More than 40 Years of Elder Law Practice in Yamhill County, Washington County, Clackamas County, Marion County, and Polk County, State of Oregon.
Larry K. Gray & Associates P.C. will strive to achieve the best outcome for every client through reasoned, logical, informed, effective advocacy.
At Larry K. Gray & Associates, P.C., the emphasis and focus are to provide sound advice, top quality document preparation, and/or reasoned advocacy for our client. We strive to provide professional, timely, and cost-effective results to meet the client’s legal concerns. Our proficiency, effectiveness, and integrity have earned us a reputation as one of Yamhill County’s premier lawyers.
At times, you may find yourself in situations or with problems that you cannot resolve on your own. Our legal counseling is designed to assist you and your family with courtesy and respect in such difficult periods. Knowledgeable advice acquired from decades of legal experience can help you formulate a course of action to free yourself from a complex legal maze. We do not represent banks, insurance companies, governmental agencies, or large corporations; our clients are individuals and families seeking help with legal problems they encounter in this increasingly complex world.
Larry K. Gray & Associates, PC
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(503) 538-1350
404 East First Street
Newberg, Oregon 97132
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Larry K. Gray & Associates, P.C. welcomes clients from within and outside the State of Oregon who need to investigate, review documents, obtain advice, and/or manage the personal condition and financial affairs of an older family member within Yamhill County, Washington County, Clackamas County, Marion County, or Polk County in the State of Oregon. We will make efforts to accommodate and assist you with the legal difficulties associated with helping an elderly spouse, parent, father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, or other family member living with you or living a long distance away.
As a person ages and becomes impaired by medical problems, it is common for the impaired person to want a trusted family member to manage their financial affairs. Often this means putting the trusted person’s name on financial accounts as a co-owner or co-signer. Many husbands and wives are co-owners of financial accounts with rights of survivorship - a very common tool of convenience and estate planning. However, there are numerous reasons why placing a non-spouse family member as a co-owner on a financial account is not prudent. The potential for misunderstandings and conflicts within the family is very high. A better approach is to give the trusted non-spouse person a Durable General Power of Attorney, and/or where appropriate, a Limited Power of Attorney, to help with managing assets.
A Power of Attorney is a written document whereby a Principal party (the person delegating authority to another) designates a person as his/her Agent to act as the Principal’s legal representative. The delegation of authority can be very broad (General Power of Attorney), limited in scope (Limited Power of Attorney), or very restrictive (Special Power of Attorney).
An important consideration in drafting the Power of Attorney is how long the Power of Attorney will be effective. A Power of Attorney, and authority of the Agent, terminates upon the death of the Principal party. A Durable Power of Attorney will continue to be effective even if the Principal party becomes incapacitated during his/her lifetime.
The Power of Attorney can be revoked by the Principal party at anytime. The revocation of a Power of Attorney needs to be in writing, delivered to the Agent, with written notification of the revocation given to all third parties who have recognized and/or accepted the Agent as the Principal's legal representative. If a Power of Attorney has been recorded with the county clerk, the revocation needs to also be recorded with the county clerk.
A Power of Attorney has the potential of being misused, and there are many examples of an Agent misusing the authority of a Power of Attorney. The Agent is in a fiduciary relationship with the Principal, but some Agents seem to be able to rationalize their inappropriate actions by some self-serving conjectured benefit to the Principal.
A Power of Attorney can be a very useful lifetime estate planning and asset management tool, but it can also be a catalyst for future conflict within a family - proceed with caution. Before doing a Power of Attorney, both the Principal and Agent should seek the advice of a knowledgeable experienced attorney about the advisability and scope of the proposed use of a Power of Attorney.
If you or a family member lack physical mobility, an appointment with our lawyer at your home, assisted living or care facility can probably be arranged for an elder law and/or estate planning consultation. The geographical locations for the out-of-office appointment can be within most of Yamhill County, most of Washington County, the western portion of Clackamas County, the northwestern portion of Marion County, and portions of Polk County. If you call, we will be glad to discuss the options for an initial consultation appointment at your location.
For a knowledgeable, experienced, and cost-effective
Elder Law and Power of Attorney Lawyer, contact
Larry K. Gray & Associates, P.C. Larry K. Gray has
been helping clients for more than 40 years.
Larry K. Gray & Associate, P.C.
404 East First Street
Phone: (503) 538-1350
Newberg, Oregon 97132
The information on this website is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular legal problem, and the presentation of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship will only exist after a mutual agreement to establish an attorney-client relationship.