Power of Attorney Case

For an interesting case dealing with legal and ethical issues surrounding the drafting of a power of attorney, see In re Winthrop, 848 N.E.2d 961 (Ill. 2006).

Although the court was more lenient with respect to his behavior than the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, the attorney was still suspended for two years because he had provided false information during the investigation of his conduct.

For a discussion of this case, see Helen Gunnarson, POA Perils, 94 Ill. B.J. 403 (2006).  The author concludes:

The complexity of the proceeding does, however, suggest that reinventing the wheel when it comes to drafting powers of attorney may be unwise. Even more important, an attorney would be well advised to exercise extra caution when a third party initiates a request for the attorney to draft an instrument for an elderly person.