Oftentimes people want to name two of their children as power of attorney co-agents solely due to the fact that they do not want to hurt one of their children’s feelings. They are afraid that if they name one of their kids as the sole first choice as their agent and make their other kid ‘only’ their backup, then the one named as a backup is going to feel slighted.

Well, that may actually be the case, especially if they don’t have open conversations with their children about their estate planning goals. But that should not be the only reason a person makes their kids co-agents.

In 2017 the Texas legislature passed the Texas Durable Power of Attorney Act which specifically addressed the ability to name co-agents in a power of attorney document. The form even gives you the ability to say whether the agents can act independently or if they must act together. But just because the law lets you create co-agents doesn’t mean that you should. It really depends on your specific circumstances.

If you are considering making people co-agents, then you need to consider several things. First of all, each person you choose needs to be fully trustworthy, and they should have the kind of life skills that would make them good for this very important role. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Some people are better with handling financial matters than others, and that’s just a fact of life.

But when you are considering creating co-agents, you also need to be very confident that your co-agents can get along and stay on the same page as they perform their duties. This is where major problems can potentially arise, even if, or perhaps especially if, the co-agents are siblings. If they don’t get along and/or they have very different opinions about how your financial affairs should be handled, then it could become a big fight which eventually must be settled in court. If this were to happen, then the power of attorney could possibly end up causing more problems than it solved. That only happens in extreme situations, but it is definitely something to keep in mind when choosing co-agents.

And choosing whether the co-agents can act independently or whether they must act together is also a big decision. There can be positives and negatives to each of those choices. It certainly makes it easier to act and get stuff done if they can act independently. But at the same time that can lead to big disagreements and problems between the co-agents. Each co-agent could potentially get very upset with the other co-agent for doing certain things without their approval.

If you choose to force the co-agents to work together on every decision, then that can prevent one co-agent from doing something the other co-agent disagrees with. That of course can be a good thing, but it also can lead to important matters not getting taken care of. And even if they do agree 100% on something, then it takes more work to get whatever activities actually completed. For example, both co-agents must sign contracts for you for the contracts to be valid. This creates more overall legwork. Things like this can make it harder to get stuff done, even little things like say signing up for a new internet service.

Now, I’m not saying people should never make co-agents in their powers of attorney. In fact, this can be a very positive part of your overall estate plan. But I am saying that if you are considering it, then make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and make sure you appoint co-agents who can work well together.