Power of attorney
Power of Attorney free forms: A Power of Attorney is a legal document that serves as a proof for the creation of a relationship between two people, who are designated as the “principal” and the “agent”. In the document, the agent is authorized by the principal to function on his/her behalf, regarding all business transactions permitted by him/her. A power of attorney can be general, enabling the agent to conduct all sorts of business transactions for the principal, or it can be specific or limited to the transactions mentioned in the document. Free forms for Power of Attorney can be downloaded from the Internet or professionally drafted forms can be obtained. Although free forms for Power of Attorney are useful, the professionally drafted forms would be better, as they are more complete and contain all kinds of instructions. These forms are available in customized versions in all states.
Durable Power of Attorney: Durable Power of Attorney empowers the representative assigned by the principal, to act on his/her behalf, after the principal is incapacitated. It is essential that the legal document contain the words, “This Power Of Attorney shall not be affected by my disability “ or something similar. The principal needs to sign the Durable Power of Attorney before his/her disability. In addition, the document should also indicate in what way the principal would be declared incapable. This is necessary, because when the attorney-in-fact starts implementing the Durable Power of Attorney, he/she should be able to convince the parties he/she will be dealing with. The duties of a Durable Power of Attorney can be limited to the authority over matters related to real estate and finance. In order to create a legal Durable Power of Attorney, you need to fill and sign a durable form. Free durable forms can be downloaded from the Internet. You would need to sign the form in front of a public notary, and in some states, witnesses would also be required. The principal might revoke a Durable Power of Attorney at any point of time. However, he/she would need to inform the attorney-in-fact in a written form, that the Power of Attorney is being revoked, and thereby the agent will be required to return the copies of all the documents related to it. Moreover, the principal needs to notify his/her bank or any other financial institution, the details of how the attorney-in-fact had used the Power of Attorney, and that it had been revoked.
Medical Power of Attorney: A Medical Power of Attorney is designated in an anticipation of a medical emergency. It allows you to decide who would represent and enforce your interests in case you are not fit to take your medical decisions. It would be advisable that the principal designates a trustworthy agent, as he/she would require taking crucial medical decisions. However, an agent cannot exercise the authority, until the physicians confirm in writing that the principal is medically incompetent to take decisions. It is essential that the principal sign a disclosure statement, mentioning that the principal has clearly read and understood the contents, before signing the document. Otherwise, the Medical Power of Attorney would not be considered legally effective. In case the principal is unable to sign the document, another person could sign on his/her behalf, in the presence of two authentic adult witnesses.
Health care Power of Attorney: A Health Care Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to designate a person as an authorized agent, who will be empowered to make medical decisions on behalf of the principal, at the time when he/she is medically incompetent, and is often referred to as a health-care proxy. This document is different from a Living Will, as a Health Care Power of Attorney would permit you to appoint an agent durable for health care in order to make health care decisions according to the wishes, values and choices of the principal. While a Living Will would only allow the principal to express his/her wishes regarding the life-sustaining procedures. A health care power of attorney is regarded as ”Advance Health Care Directives”, as in the document the principal would mention the instructions that he/she would prefer to have implemented in the event of medical incompetence. The principal can still have the right to give medical directions to the physicians and other health care providers despite authorizing these rights to a Health Care Power of Attorney.
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