What Nobody Tells You About
How a Power of Attorney Actually Works

William has worked with a client for 21 years. First met in 2005, now 93 years old, a man with an extraordinary life story that includes open heart surgery in the 1950s where doctors packed his chest cavity with ice to slow his heart, and two decades of chemotherapy for cancer that he has continued to fight through. A remarkable person by any measure.

But this episode is not a celebration.

It’s a lesson… and not a positive one.

As this client has declined in recent months, the need for support has grown significantly. Someone to help navigate medical decisions. Someone to step in and manage finances. And the people surrounding him are in conflict.

A neighbor who became deeply involved in his healthcare decisions has upset many of those close to him personally. The people named as his power of attorney have pushed back against what is happening on the healthcare side. And now the client is likely to revoke his existing power of attorney and name someone new, a significant and disruptive step at 93 years old.

The Part That Stopped William in His Tracks

The client selected a durable power of attorney years ago, meaning it goes into effect immediately rather than waiting for a doctor to certify incapacity. He trusted the person he named. But the moment that person actually started exercising that power, accessing checking accounts, reviewing bills, doing exactly what a power of attorney is supposed to do, the client revolted against the situation.

He had not fully understood what he had signed. Not because the documents were wrong. Because nobody had made the reality of how they would function completely clear.

At the same time, he is frustrated that his healthcare power of attorney does not kick in until a doctor signs off that he can no longer make his own decisions. That is how a springing power of attorney works. It springs into effect only when a specific condition is met. He did not realize that distinction until he needed it to work differently.

Durable vs Springing: Why It Matters

A durable power of attorney goes into effect immediately upon signing. The person you name can act on your behalf right away, within whatever scope the document defines. A springing power of attorney only activates when a triggering condition is met, typically a physician’s certification of incapacity.

Both have legitimate uses. Both have trade-offs. And the difference between them matters enormously in practice, even if it seems like a technicality when you are sitting across from an attorney signing documents.

The Gap Between Signing and Needing

This is the broader lesson William brings back from 21 years of working with this client. You can do all the right things. Name the right people, update the documents at the right times, work with good advisors throughout. And still not fully understand how those documents will actually function until the moment you need them.

The time to close that gap is not when you are 93 and declining. It is now.

Have the conversations. Understand what durable means versus springing. Know who can do what, when they can do it, and what it will actually look like when it happens. Make sure the people you have named understand their role and are prepared to carry it out. And if something does not feel right, find a way to correct it before the moment of need forces your hand.

Estate documents are only as good as your understanding of how they work.

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I have a client that I’ve worked with for 21 years now, I think. Uh, first met him back in 2005. He’s 93 years old, lost his wife a couple years ago, and he was 10 years older than she was. Has actually been going through chemo treatment for, for cancer for the last 20 years. Had open heart surgery back in the ’50s or ’60s where, uh, if I remember the story correctly, they actually packed his cavity with ice in order to slow down his heart.

That’s where medical technology has come from. But lots of great stories I can tell about this client. Unfortunately, this is a, a learning lesson story that’s not a positive one, which is at [00:01:00] 93, he’s declined. We’ve updated his estate documents on numerous occasions, and obviously losing his wife was one of those times that we needed to update them.

We needed to update his power of attorney and his healthcare power of attorney, and then we made some slight adjustments to his, his trust distributions over time as well And his decline recently has led him to needing support, needing somebody to help him with his medical professionals. Probably close to needing somebody to step in to help him with his finances.

And The people that have surrounded him are in conflict. We have a neighbor friend who has become extraordinarily involved on the healthcare decisions, so much so that she’s upset many of [00:02:00] those that surround him personally. And as a result, the folks that he’s named as his power of attorney are revolting against what’s happening on the healthcare side.

And it’s interesting because… and sad. The… So he’s most likely gonna revoke his power of attorney and name somebody new, because he, while he recognized that his power of attorney had access to his financial accounts, it wasn’t until his power of attorney started to actually become a power of attorney, and it’s a durable power of attorney.

There’s two types: durable, which goes into effect immediately, and springing, that happens over time. And he selected durable because it’s, it’s easier, simpler. The person he named in that place, he trusted. But as soon as that person that he trusted started moving into that capacity to access his checking accounts, to see where bills are paid, when bills are paid, and do all the other things that you want that person to do, our client’s kind of revolted against the situation.

And it’s [00:03:00] funny because on the other side, on the healthcare power of attorney, he’s upset that his healthcare power of attorney doesn’t actually take effect until a doctor has signed off that he’s incapable of making his own decisions. So it just… It goes back. We do a lot of education with clients over time around estate documents and who to name and why to name, and the pluses and the minuses and all these things.

But until you’re in that instance of needing care or needing the documents to, to operate the way you intended them to operate, you don’t actually understand how things are gonna happen. And so have those conversations, understand, know, right? The documents matter on the estate planning side and in all aspects of your life, right?

When we put something into place legally, we use documents to do it. The legal system then has kinda control over it, um, how things operate, who can serve, who can do what, when they can do it, et [00:04:00] cetera, et cetera. So have conversations, be educated, stay informed. And if you’re not pleased with the way things are going, then figure out a way to get them corrected.

So unfortunately, a tough lesson to learn about estate documents and kinda legal documents in general is you can make all kinds of decisions, but until they’re actually being used, you’re not quite sure how they’re gonna be used.

ORIGINAL MEDIA SOURCE(S):

William Bissett: The Power of Attorney Problem Nobody Warns You About | Portus Perspectives

Originally Recorded on July 13, 2026

Portus Perspectives: Episode 31

By /Published On: August 18, 2026/