No, you have to do estate planning in order to allow your spouse or partner to have that authority. Specifically, by designating your spouse or partner as agent under a General Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney, he or she can make decisions on your behalf regarding financial matters.
About Brittany Martin
Elizabeth Mitchell is a partner in the law firm of Ambler Keenan Mitchell Johnson. Beth devotes her practice to estate planning, Medicaid planning, elder law, special needs planning, and probate and trust administration. She is board certified as a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA)* through the National Elder Law Foundation, and she is a Veterans Administration accredited attorney. She is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Denver Bar Association, and the Colorado Bar Association, where she is a member of the Elder Law Section.