FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What happens should your mother, sister, or spouse become incapacitated?

You would normally have no legal authority to make decisions on their behalf.

What happens to your loved one's property when they die?

You will need the legal authority of a Will to transfer property they owned by themselves.

What is a General Durable Power of Attorney?

It is an advance directive document that gives an individual the power to sign legal documents for another person.This document names an attorney-in-fact to make financial decisions for an incapacitated person.

What is an Advance Medical Directive?

It is a legaldocument that explains what medical procedures someone would want done if they were not able to give conformed consent.This document also functions as a Living Will, wherein one states their wishes as it concerns life-sustaining medical treatment.

What is a Last Will and Testament?

This legaldocument allows a person to say how they want their assets distributed after they die.This document also names a Personal Representative/Executor who will be in charge of handling the affairs of the decedent.

Frequently, the question is asked, does a person suffering from early stage dementia have the capacity to sign a power of attorney or a Will?

A person with legal capacity is one who has the ability to understand the nature and significance of what he or she is doing.

Under Maryland law, a person must have sufficient strength and clearness of mind and memory, to know, in general, without prompting, the nature and extent of the property of which they are about to dispose of, and the nature of the act which they are about to perform, and the names and identity of the person(s) who are to be the objects of their bounty, and their relationship to the person(s).

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Attorney Pope-Onwukwe is frequently in the community as a speaker or panelist at seminars, on the radio or television. She has been a presenter for the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the Maryland State Bar Association, Prince George's County Bar Association and numerous civic, religious and non-profit organizations. This is a recent podcast, take a listen:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2042031/11273454