Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: can a will or Power of attorney be revoked

So long as you have the capacity to understand whar you are doing you can legally change a will or change/revoke a power of attorney. However, you should keep in mind ,that the more advanced or degenerative the disease the morel ikely your fitness to make changes is open to question and more likely subject to challenge.

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Re: can a will or Power of attorney be revoked

I agree with Steve, but make an additional suggestion. Ask your treating physician to be one of the witnesses to the document. Explain your concerns about the revised documents possibly being questioned as to the legitimacy in light of your condition. Just before you sign the documents have your physician give you a simple physical exam to determine your ability to understand what you are doing, and then become one of the witnesses. By doing this, you will have a medical determination of your capacity to knowingly sign the new documents, and if the documents are contested in the future, your physician can refer to his examination to discuss your ability at the time of signing. While I recognize your limited ability to pay the costs, you might also want to have someone make a video recording of both the doctor's examination and your signing the documents. Having done these things several times, I can reasonably assure you that if there were a contest as to the document's legitimacy, the video can be important in keeping the documents legal and valid, even under your current condition.