***slight spoilers ahead!***
First of all, if you are even slightly curious about the new Nathan Fielder/Lance Oppenheim documentary, go see it. I knew very little about Elizabeth Holmes prior to watching it, but as a long-time Fielder fan, I knew it would be an experience. And it was SO good.
Second, if you told me when I opened Holistic Estate Law Practice that my business would somehow intersect with a Nathan Fielder project, I'd be very confused. But here we are.
I was a wreck during that movie. I gasped. I laughed. I wanted to scream. But the thing that had me crawling out of my skin was the moment Billy Evans sat at his kitchen table and revealed that he is Elizabeth Holmes' Power of Attorney.
So what does that mean and why did this send me, an estate lawyer, into a panic? Let's get into it.
A power of attorney typically falls into two camps: medical and financial.
When you grant someone medical power of attorney, they can make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated. That person steps into your shoes and can consent or decline procedures, treatments, end-of-life care, and more.
You can put up guardrails to limit that power such as clarifying who gets to decide if you are in fact incapacitated and clarifying the type of care you'd want to receive. But when the document is silent on your wishes in a particular situation, the power of attorney can make the final decision.
A financial power of attorney has the power to make financial decisions on your behalf. You can narrow the scope of that power as much as you'd like or you can make it very broad. You can allow this person to buy to things for you or others, transfer your assets into and out of a trust, make gifts on your behalf, etc. In some states, the default is that the moment you sign that financial power of attorney document, it goes into effect immediately. That means you don't need to be incapacitated to have someone serve as your financial power of attorney.
So yah, a power of attorney is a HUGE power and we can easily imagine all the ways it can be abused. That's why I panicked during the film. Your power of attorney should be someone you trust, who understands your wishes, and can make difficult decisions in high pressure situations.
To say Elizabeth and Billy's relationship appeared unhealthy is an understatement. They appeared deeply enmeshed and codependent ("she is my heart"; "we are one and the same"). Billy uses Elizabeth's twitter account while she is incarcerated and publishes tweets in her voice without her knowledge. He uses an AI version of Holmes to promote his business because "it's going to be done [by others] anyways". While Billy didn't clarify the scope of the power of attorney, I have some concerns.
[celebrity actress' name redacted] points out that Elizabeth is mentally capable of handling her own affairs. While she is physically limited due to her incarceration, that fact arguably makes the power of attorney even more concerning. As an inmate, Holmes’ liberties are already restricted. The one person who can advocate for her is so clearly driven by money and power. It's a questionable decision.
And to be clear, this is not a defense of Holmes' criminal acts. I write this because before I was an estate lawyer, I was a family attorney who represented several individuals experiencing emotional, financial, and technology-based abuse. I don't have enough details about their relationship to label it, but I know red flags when I see them.
What does this mean for you, dear reader? When making an estate plan, hire an attorney who will walk you through what these decisions look like in practice. Be honest about how you feel about the people in your life and how much you trust them. You deserve to have an advocate who is on your side and is driven by your best interests. And if you have 3 hours to kill, go watch You Can See Everything.