To Eric, I am a single woman of 72 years of age. I reside in a two-bedroom, one-story condo. The mortgage has been settled. I have no relatives here. I’m divorced as well. I haven’t seen my cousins in a long time because they reside in a different state. The youngest cousin is me.
I am therefore considering my last arrangements. I am not completely healthy, but I don’t have any major health issues. Two of my buddies have supported me for a long time. I’m afraid to ask one of them to act as my power of attorney, though.
They wish to assist me in creating my final arrangements and determining what to do in the event that I am unable to live alone. I can’t ask anyone else to be my POA. I would be grateful for any guidance you could provide.
Plan Reluctance
To Plan, Please accept your friends’ offers of assistance if they have been made. Being able to support one another through all of life’s phases is one of the benefits of having a lasting friendship. In good times and bad, your friends have supported you just as much as you have supported them. Consider this an additional way for you all to strengthen your relationship.
Don’t be scared to discuss that with your pals as well if you’re concerned that it will be imposed. It’s acceptable to feel conflicted about this sensitive request. It might surprise you to learn that they don’t think it’s an imposition.
If you haven t already, you may also want to talk with a lawyer about what the responsibilities of power of attorney might look like in your case. From your letter, it doesn t seem like you need a POA at the moment, so this would be more of a hypothetical or preliminary conversation. Thinking through the specifics of what you re asking may make it easier.
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