The papers that work while you’re alive.

Two documents, two different jobs

Incapacity is more common than early death, and it’s the risk most families haven’t papered over. Wisconsin law provides two separate powers of attorney, and you need both:

• Financial power of attorney. Your agent can pay bills, manage accounts, and handle property if you can’t. A health care POA gives no financial authority, and vice versa.
• Health care power of attorney. Names the person who makes medical decisions if you can’t speak for yourself.
• A living will (Wisconsin calls it a Declaration to Physicians) states your end-of-life wishes directly. It complements the health care POA; it doesn’t replace it.

Why Wisconsin makes these urgent

Without a health care power of attorney, Wisconsin’s default rules decide who can speak for you, not you. The decision-maker may not be the person you would have chosen, family members can disagree with no clear tiebreaker, and the path can still run through a guardianship proceeding: a court process, at the worst possible time, to get authority one signature would have granted.

Statutory forms vs. tailored documents

Wisconsin publishes free basic POA forms, and they’re better than nothing. But the statutory forms are limited: gifting powers, real estate transactions, digital accounts, and business interests often need language the form doesn’t carry. Wisconsin’s witnessing rules are also strict; for a health care POA, witnesses can’t be relatives. We tailor the documents to your life and run a supervised signing so they’re valid the day you leave.