Families ask this when a parent can no longer sign. Someone is named in a durable power of attorney. Can that person still have a trust prepared?

If I can no longer sign, can my durable power of attorney agent still have a trust prepared for me?

Often yes — if the durable power of attorney was signed while you had capacity and clearly gave the agent power to create a trust. In Florida that power is special: your initials usually must sit right next to that line. A general mention of trusts is not enough. Durable means it keeps working after incapacity; the agent does not need you to regain capacity to use a power you already gave.

What does “create a trust” mean?

The agent can have the trust prepared and sign it for you as attorney-in-fact — not as the agent's own trust. Creating and funding are different steps. The booklet alone does not move the house or bank accounts.

What will a bank or trust company want?

Usually: a clear copy of the power of attorney showing the create-trust initials; an agent affidavit that the power of attorney is still good; sometimes a short attorney letter; the trust signed by the agent for you; ID and tax paperwork; and banking authority if money is moving. If they refuse, they generally must say why in writing. They should not insist on “only their power of attorney form if yours already grants the power — though counsel may need to push that.

What precautions keep this from blowing up later?

Check the initials; how the power of attorney was witnessed (remote witnessing can wipe out these special powers); who benefits (limits if the agent is not a spouse, parent, or child); funding and gift powers; the signature block (attorney-in-fact for you); and that the trust matches the real goal. A trust for day-to-day management is not the same job as a Medicaid income trust. Mixing those jobs is how families sign the wrong paper.

We're not married — does that change it?

The agent's power comes from your power of attorney, not from living together. Partner as agent, or partner as a beneficiary of a trust the agent creates, has to be drafted on purpose.

What should we bring to a meeting?

The full power of attorney, any existing trust, a simple list of accounts and real estate, and the bank or trust company that needs to accept the papers.

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