The further adventures of a health care proxy and agent under a durable power of attorney. Read part 1 here.
When we last left our not-so-secret agent, she had been to the post office and had visited her client at the rehab hospital and was just finishing up lunch at an Indian Restaurant in Harvard Square….
2:00 p.m. Location: The Bank
I had a check to deposit for the client, needed to be added to the client’s account as his power of attorney, and needed routing number information from the bank in order to start having his pension and social security checks directly deposited into his account.
I sat with the banker for about a half an hour. She needed to see the original power of attorney, my driver’s license, and an addition piece of identification in order to add me to the account. She checked to make sure that the power of attorney included banking powers but didn’t keep a copy of the document. I had to sign some papers so that my signature is on file, and she helped with the deposit and routing number information. We then reviewed the transactions that had taken place since the last bank statement so that I could take over the handling of my client’s account with a clear picture of his situation.
Without the power of attorney, she would not have been able to give me any information about his accounts or help me in any way.
3:00 p.m. Location: My Office
After returning to my office, I set up my client’s bank account in a computer system (such as Quickbooks or Quicken) and paid the bills that had come in over the last week while he’d been in the hospital. I made sure to sign the checks as “Client Name by Leanna Hamill as POA” and not just with my name or his name. I then called my client to let him know that his bills had been paid. He’d been concerned about not getting this done while he was sick.
4:00 p.m. Location: My Office
My urgent work for my client was done for the day, but I knew that in the future I’d need to talk to his benefits department, retirement fund account and health insurance company to get information from them. I know that these companies need time for their legal departments to review the documents and then get the permissions entered into their system so I called each of these companies to let them know that I had been appointed as my client’s agent and that I wanted to send the appropriate document to them. I’ll follow up next week to make sure that everything is in place for when I need it.
Being prepared isn’t just wise when you are planning, it’s an essential skill for a not-so-secret agent as well.
I hope you enjoyed the adventure of a not-so-secret agent. As you can see, it’s a big responsibility to give to someone but it’s also a vital thing to put in place. Because my client appointed me to handle his finances and medical decisions when he is unable, he can concentrate on getting better and not worry about how his bills are going to get paid, whether his checks will be deposited, or who is making sure his medical bills will be covered by insurance.
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