How to Get Things

How to Get Power of Attorney

There are times in life when things need to get done but you aren’t able to get them done on your own. In these times it may become necessary to have someone else take care of your affairs for you. Power of attorney is what people use to allow others to legal tend to their personal affairs. Here’s how to get power of attorney.

What is Power of Attorney?

Power of Attorney (POA) is basically just a document or agreement that names a person or group who is legally authorized to act in place of another person. You can give oral power of attorney to another person, but it is generally better to have the agreement in writing. If you give oral POA, it’s good to have a witness although this is not required. The person you elect to act in your place is called your “Agent” or “Attorney in Fact”, and you are referred to as the “Grantor” or “Principal”, being that you are granting power to another person. Any person can get power of attorney from another person, but there are a few things that are required for both sides of the agreement to participate.

Mental Competence

In order for any power of attorney agreement to hold up to legal scrutiny, all parties involved must be deemed mentally competent. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, becoming comatose, suffering a head injury, or entering a mental health facility would all exclude a person from executing a power of attorney. If a person becomes mentally incompetent, a court could name a conservator to act on behalf of an incapacitated person to grant a POA. Once a person grants POA to another party, that agreement becomes null and void if the grantor becomes mentally incompetent after the agreement was made. The only exception is with a durable power of attorney, which is used in part to cover such situations.

Equal Dignity

Equal Dignity refers to the stipulation in law that an agreement must be given the same level of importance and formality as that to which the agreement applies. Basically the POA document or agreement must be of the same type as the transactions the agent will be performing. So for instance, if you are allowing another person to conduct business on your behalf in which contracts or other paperwork will be involved, then the POA document must be in writing and contain the same level of formal language and importance as the business the agent will be conducting.

Signing and Notarizing

In order for a power of attorney to be legal and actionable, the grantor must first sign the document itself. In addition to the agent, at least two witnesses, and a notary must also sign the document to show that all parties willingly entered into the agreement. Some states in the US require only one witness’ signature, but the main point here is that all parties to the POA must sign and the document must be witnessed and notarized. There are various instances in life in which this POA may be required, so there are different types based on the legal power granted to the agent.

Different Types of Power of Attorney:

General Power of Attorney is the most common type people require and allows your agent to perform a wide variety of tasks in your place. General POA is used to conduct business transactions on your behalf. Things like making purchases of stock and other securities, filing taxes, or selling real estate in addition to many more business related transactions. General POA is usually set for specific period of time

Special Power of Attorney is pretty much just as it sounds. Specific legal powers are granted to the agent in order to be more specific about what types of transaction they can carry out. If there is only one or two duties you need performed while you are unable for a time, then special POA may be just what you need.

Durable Power of Attorney is given to allow the agent to maintain their legal powers even when the grantor becomes incapacitated. This prevision must be specified in the document and it ends when the grantor dies or becomes able to revoke the agreement.

Healthcare Power of Attorney is the same as a durable POA with the addition that the agent is granted the power to make end of life decisions for the grantor. Healthcare POA allows the agent to make any type of healthcare decision for the grantor and is of course revoked in the event of the grantor’s death.

Power of attorney gives significant control over your personal matters and decisions to another party. Be sure you completely understand what decision you are making if you enter into just such and agreement, and always seek legal advice from a licensed professional before signing such powers over to another person.