Take a moment to imagine the inability/incapacity to handle the affairs. Take a moment to consider who will handle your business for you while you ensure your well-being and care. These reasons primarily trigger the need for the preparation of power of attorney. Just imagine how much convenience it can bring. Don’t you think it is a very crucial attorney document to safeguard your interest primarily?
A more understanding of it will surely bring you better results. There are different ways to prepare this attorney document. You need this if you are trapped in a situation where you need someone to act for you. This article will elaborate on the details of this document. Be here with us to know more useful information.
What is a Power of Attorney?
Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives the general power to another individual (called an attorney in fact/agent) to act for one individual (called a donor/principal). One individual gives power to another individual to take action on his behalf. The authority depends on the terms of the document. It can be regarding anything including but not limited to legal advice, medical treatment, commercial property, tax credits, financial affairs, financial power and financial decisions.
The best example of it can be its use in the legal profession. Have you ever thought about how a lawyer gets the legal authority to act for his client? You will know now. The client gives the authority to his lawyer by signing a legal document. It is a properly drafted document where all the conditions are specified and the client signs it. It gives the authority to a lawyer to act, plead, and appear for his client.
What is the Importance of Power of Attorney?
Commerce and Business are advancing at a rapid speed. It becomes convenient to have this document. Every adult should have it. It is a kind of reassurance. There are widespread risks involved in our daily lives. It can’t be mitigated but is supported by this documentation. It ensures that someone will be there to take care of your affairs in case of any incapacity. It gives a sense of security to the principal as there are contingencies involved in every aspect of life.
What are the Conditions for its validity?
It is not legally binding until and unless it complies with the requisite conditions. The most important is the sufficient mental capacity of the principal. The principal has to be a person who has the mental capacity to understand the nature and terms of the document. There can be no transfer of power in case the principal has no mental capacity. The court will appoint a public guardian/ conservator to deal with the affairs. The process will be more costly, and time-consuming and there will be no control over the appointed person by the family member.
How can it be Terminated?
It is a legally binding document where both the principal and agent are bound by its terms. But whether the parties are bound by it for an indefinite period or they can terminate its existence and free themselves from the obligation? It is a document which depends on the terms involved in it. Its validity time period depends upon its type.
Parties can put an end to it. There can be different scenarios where it can end like the principal himself revokes the agreement/principal dies/the agent can’t fulfil his obligation due to his incapacity/ court itself cancels it.
But the question arises who can override a power of attorney? It is a document which binds the principal and the agent. The principal who continues to be of sound mind can override it. In certain situations and emergencies, friends and family members of the principal can also override it.
What are the Types of Power of Attorney?
The most important thing to keep in mind is that the preparation of the document is not the same for all states. It depends on the state laws where it is executed. Here some of the types are outlined which are as follows:
Ordinary Power
It is the discretion of the donor to give the authority to his attorney to act on his behalf. He can either give broad or limited authority. It depends on the discretion of the donor. Ordinary power means you need someone to address your wide issues like almost any kind of legal, financial, or tax matter. In this case, the donor must have legal capacity.
Durable and Non-Durable Power
Sometimes the donor may want the transfer of power to be durable. It means that even if he becomes incapacitated it will continue to be operative. The attorney continues to act in the interest of the donor. The donor can make it ‘non-durable’ if he doesn’t want it to remain in effect during his illness/incapacity. Generally durable one is desirable among them as the other one leaves the donor vulnerable in case of any contingency.
Health and Welfare Power
Welfare power of attorney is the most commonly used power of attorney form. The principal can give power to his agent through it where all the health-related decisions are taken by the principal if he no longer can. It is a durable form of transfer. The agent will continue to make decisions even if he is undergoing medical treatment.
Lasting Power
The lasting power of attorney is a contingent form of transfer. It is signed by both parties but becomes operative only when a specific event occurs. The person who appoints is called the ‘donor’. The person who is appointed is called the ‘attorney’. The attorney must follow the instructions of the donor included in the lasting power of attorney.
You can use the form provided by the mental capacity act. You can also get it from the Office of the Public Guardian.
Enduring power
Enduring power of attorney is made in case you lose the capacity to make decisions on financial matters in the future. You can choose an attorney’s financial conduct authority to start immediately. A civil partner must be informed of it. It ceases to be valid if there is a barring order against a civil partner.
How to Select an Agent for Power of Attorney?
Choosing the right agent is the most important factor which decides the proper care of your responsibilities. You can give him extensive/limited authority to make decisions on your behalf.
Some of the tips can be outlined as:
- Choose a person whom you can rely upon. Do not be hasty.
- Take the power in your hands to start and end the authority.
- Check the finances of the agent. Whether he is financially capable to manage his own financial and legal affairs?
- The amount of fees charged by the agent.
- Choose a person who is willing to be your agent. No relationship can work against the wishes.
What are the Different Ways to Prepare a Power of Attorney?
Prominently there are 3 different ways to get it. You can prepare the document by yourself/meet an attorney who is well-experienced/ plan a web meeting with an experienced attorney. Mentioning these ways does not mean that all of them are equally convenient and advantageous.
It requires a lot of knowledge, expertise, caution and effort to prepare for it. A layman is not well-versed in legal jargon. Choosing the right attorney to do it for you is a very difficult and important decision to take. But LegalMart can help you out with this advanced decision. Are you looking for legal services? You can get legal advice from professional LegaMart lawyers that can guide you in preparing your document. You can check our LegaMart directory (here) and see our list of solicitors and connect with them as per your choice. All the solicitors in the directory are chosen by the LegaMart team and all of them meet our requisite skills and expertise in forming attorney-solicitor relationships.
It is no doubt that you can prepare the document yourself. There are varied difficulties involved in preparing it. If you think that you can successfully deal with them then you can prepare it by yourself.
What are the Problems Associated with Preparing a Power of Attorney?
Choosing the right template
First and foremost requirement is choosing the right template. It involves massive amounts of research and mind games. You will find various templates for it in Google. The choice of the template will determine your entire document.
Picking the right information
While researching through Google you will find varied information. Some of them might be good but there is a high probability of misinformation. How to choose the right information? You should first get the knowledge of this document so that the right information can be picked up.
Familiarize yourself with the background
It is very important to know the details of the document for a good draft. A good way to know the background is to do research, read articles, know what it is, what are its uses and benefits and the like. We, at LegaMart, are working day and night for your welfare to provide you with highly valuable and useful information through our articles.
Get some help
It is not very easy for a layman to prepare a document all by himself. You might need a group effort to prepare it with the least errors. Getting the help of an attorney is the best way to prepare as they are experienced in the documentation and taking important decisions.
Conclusion
Choosing a power of attorney depends upon the legal authority, transfer of responsibilities and the applicable state laws. The inability/incapacity to handle the affairs for personal welfare is the reason for taking advance decisions. Even if you move to another state, your poa document continues to be operative until and unless terminated due to any reason whatsoever.
Good research for useful information and an experienced lawyer providing legal services will help you in preparing a poa document. Choosing a trustworthy agent with continuing power to deal with your property and financial affairs will bring you the best output.
Source: LegaMart.com