A power of attorney (POA) is a very essential legal document. However, before you can fully understand its importance, it is best to know its purpose first. In general, the goal for creating a POA is to protect your interests and manage your estates when you have reached a point when you can no longer do them on your own.
Convenience is one of the advantages of having a power-of-attorney document. Take this scenario as an example: you are selling a property and in a few weeks, you are going to be out of the state for a business purpose. Now, you might be worried that an interested buyer would visit your home while you are away. If you have authorized someone to take charge of your property in your absence beforehand, then you can rest assured that the sale would be properly negotiated and hopefully, a deal would be closed even if you are not present. In cases like that, you may opt to get a durable POA that specifies a limited period when the authorization is effective. That document must also indicate the particular terms like your preference when it comes to the minimum sale price.
A power-of-attorney document can also save you from hassles as well as unnecessary expenses and waste of time in certain situations. Imagine how you can manage all your legal affairs on your own when you are mentally or physically incapacitated because of a serious disease or injury. That is simply impossible. So you need someone who can act as your legal representative when you are unable to make legal decisions for yourself. For example, you need to obtain a mortgage to be able to borrow money to pay for your hospital and medical bills. If you appoint someone as your attorney-in-fact, that person can sign the mortgage on your behalf.
As a result, you can get the money necessary for paying your bills. Getting a POA is a better choice compared to having a conservator, which is a guardian assigned to you by the local probate court. Probate hearings usually take time to complete, not to mention that you are going to incur more expenses than you would with a POA. Of course, why would you waste your time and money when there’s a better alternative out there? Your POA can do practically any transaction on your behalf.
Powers of attorney are also intended to avoid certain situations that may cause the court to choose a conservator or a guardian to act on everything on your behalf. When the court does that, you won’t have any say as to who it will appoint as your guardian—it may be one of your family members or someone else. Once the court has chosen a guardian, he or she has the authority to make decisions for you such as which nursing home where you will stay and what to do with your properties.
With a power of attorney, you can be confident enough that someone you trust will decide based on your wishes and your best interest.
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Power of attorney is not a person or some kind of law. It is a document that allows a person to represent another to handle their business and other personal affairs. This often happens when the principal or the grantor (the one who is authorizing another person to act in their stead) is unavailable or not present when the deal comes through. This is very common among executives of corporations especially those in the higher ups, who need to take care of business in all parts of the globe. If they cannot make it to one area, they usually send a representative with a power of attorney to sign their documents for them.
In corporations, the grantee or the proxy (the one given the power of attorney) is often an attorney to keep things legal but in truth, anybody can be given a power of attorney, even those who are not lawyers. In fact, this is why proxies like these are often called attorney in fact to differentiate them from attorney at law. In the United States, the word attorney is commonly used to refer to them.
There are however many types of power of attorney depending on the nature of the contract, the scope of the power and the period that it is valid. The most common is of course the general power of attorney which authorizes the agent to act on your behalf and to represent you in dealings and other matters. It covers all kinds of transactions. The validity of the agreement or the contract will of course be stated on the document.
The special power of attorney on the other hand only gives an agent the authority to act specific matters. For instance, you can authorize an agent to sign a business contract for you but only that business contract and no other documents. Some are also given a section, for instance, a special power of attorney to look into the financial matters and to manage it and sign documents pertaining only to financials.
A power of attorney will only last on the stated date and if there is no date specified, it will cease to be effective when the principal becomes gravely ill, incapacitated or mentally incompetent.
The Health Care power of attorney is one that allows a grantee of the document to decide on your health care service should the principal be deemed incapable of making a decision. This is very sensitive because the grantee will have the power to allow or disallow health care and will even be able to decide if hospitals will pull the plug in case the principal falls into a coma. There is also what they call the Psychiatric Advance Directives, which gives the grantee the right to decide for the care and treatment of someone who is mentally ill. Sometimes, this is appointed by the parents or by the courts, depending on who had guardianship on the person.
Anytime, the power of attorney given to a person can be revoked regardless of the specified period stated in the document. This is especially true when trust has been broken.
Power of Attorney Related Articles
- An Insight On The Different Types Of Power Of Attorney
- Choosing an Agent for your Power of Attorney
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- Essential Information about Durable Power of Attorney
- Frequently Asked Questions about Power of Attorney
- How an Agent in Your Power of Attorney should Manage Your Money
- How Much Power of Attorney Should You Give to Your Attorney-in-Fact?
- Important Considerations When Creating a Financial Power of Attorney
- Medical Issues And Power Of Attorney
- Power of Attorney 101
- Power Of Attorney And Its Validity
- Power of Attorney: A Brief Overview
- Power of Attorney: Should You Get One?
- Power of Attorney: What to Consider in Choosing an Attorney-in-Fact
- Preparing for Your Future? Consider a Health Care or Medical Power of Attorney
- Seven Steps in Preparing a Power of Attorney
- The Pros And Cons Of The Power Of Attorney
- Types Of Power Of Attorney
- Understanding The Power Of Attorney
- Watching It: Power Of Attorney And Problems}
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- Why Do You Need to Prepare a Power of Attorney?