Understanding the Power of Attorney

The purpose of the Power of Attorney is to make the representation of the person you assigned to do your transactions legal and valid. If you want to ask someone to represent or act on your behalf in private legal affairs like business transactions or other legal matters, you will need a letter from an attorney to authorize the representative and this is called the Power of Attorney (POA). There are types of Power of Attorney that you need to know before making such. However, the court is not involved with the Power of Attorney unless in the case of the first person’s incapacity to make decisions. Prior to releasing a Power of Attorney, you must be educated on how it works and the types of it.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A “Power of Attorney” is a written document that is used when you asked someone to represent you on your legal, financial, or property transactions. However, the Power of Attorney may be in legal form but is still not a court form. If someone is incapable of making their own decisions (e.g., in a coma, mentally incompetent, etc.) and needs a representative for the decisions to make, then the court may get involved to order a legal Guardianship or Conservatorship for the person who will be represented too.

What can you do with a power of attorney?

A power of attorney provides legal authority to the attorney to deal with third parties such as banks or the local council. Some powers of attorney also provide the attorney the legal authority to make decisions on someone else’s behalf, such as where they should reside or whether they should consult a medical.

What is power of attorney, and why do you require it?

Who Needs a Durable Power of Attorney? A power of attorney is required by anybody who wishes to authorize another person to conduct certain legal activities on his or her behalf (or POA). A power of attorney form can delegate authority to another person to manage financial concerns, make medical choices, or care for your children.

Types of Powers of Attorneys

General Power of Attorney

This type is for general matters which have unlimited scope and duration of the permission to represent the principal to act in the transactions including financial matters until the principal said so. In other words, A general power of attorney (GPoA) is a legal instrument that authorizes one person (referred to as an agent) to act on another’s behalf (the principal). The principal delegated this responsibility to the agent because he/she is unable to make choices for himself/herself. This GPoA is general in nature, and the agent would be empowered to make legal, medical, financial, and business choices (but not real estate). It is irreversible, and the principal must agree to approve what the GPoA does.

Specific Power of Attorney

The specific power of attorney permits the representative to do a specific single transaction of the principal. The most common use of the specific power of attorney is in checking account signature and signing a contract. Only real estate transactions can be registered in the state and other transactions do not have to be recorded. In other words, A special power of attorney (SPoA) is a legal instrument that authorizes one person (referred to as an agent) to act on behalf of another (the principal). The principal delegated this responsibility to the agent because he/she is unable to make choices for himself/herself. This SPoA is property-specific. It is irreversible, and the principal must agree to confirm what the SPoA does. When you are unable to make choices for yourself, you would utilize a POA. This might be due to health concerns or the fact that you cannot, but must, be physically there to make them.

What is a Durable Power of Attorney?

A durable power of attorney (or POA) is used in estate planning and is referred to as an unlimited duration of Power of Attorney. The durability of the POA starts when you give your signature and your decision-making capacity to another person who is called your representative. You give your representative the full capacity to be you in the specific transaction that you agreed to turn over to him/ her, the agreement is valid with or without a contract as long you have the presence of your Attorney.

Simply, the durable power of attorney is one that normally continues in force until the principal’s death or until the instrument is revoked. A durable power of attorney, the duration of which must be mentioned expressly, remains effective even if the principal is unable to make personal decisions owing to incapacity. In the alternative, a “non-durable” power of attorney—one that lacks a durability provision—expires upon the principal’s incapacity. The rules governing power of attorney differ from state to state.