Q: WHEN IS A POWER OF ATTORNEY NECESSARY?
A: Any person with assets such as a vehicle, house, business or bank
accounts should sign a legal power of attorney naming a trusted
person as agent to make decisions protecting and preserving those
assets in the event of an emergency. Say you are suddenly rendered
incompetent or called out of the country: Have you properly authorized
someone with a Power of Attorney to manage your property while you
cannot? A Power of Attorney is equally important in cases where
a parent needs to give temporary custodial authority of a child
to another adult, or where a person wants to appoint someone else
to make medical decisions.
Q: WHICH POWER OF ATTORNEY
IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
A: There are four principal types of Power of Attorney: A General Power of Attorney, a Limited Power of Attorney, a Health Care Power of Attorney, and a Custodial Power of Attorney for Minors. Each of
these is explained more fully below.
THE GENERAL
POWER OF ATTORNEY GRANTS BROAD POWERS.
A General Power of Attorney gives the Agent broad powers over all
of the assets of the Principal, including the right to buy and sell
property, access private records, use and dispose of personal property
and essentially do anything with the Principal's property that the
Principal herself could do. Our General Power of Attorney is written
to grant the broadest possible powers to cover nearly every situation
imaginable. A General Power of Attorney can be either Springing
or Durable.
THE LIMITED
POWER OF ATTORNEY GRANTS SPECIFIC POWERS.
A Limited Power of Attorney gives the Agent very specific powers. Usually this form
of Power of Attorney is used to authorize the Agent to take a specific
action, such as accept an offer to buy the Principal's house or
use the Principal's car. A Limited Power of Attorney is also referred
to as a "Special" Power of Attorney and can be either
Springing or Durable.
THE HEALTH
CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY DEALS WITH HEALTH CARE DECISIONS.
A Health Care Power of Attorney grants the Agent the power to make medical decisions
for the Principal when the Principal can't make that decision for
himself. This might occur when the Principal slips into a coma after
a motor vehicle accident. With a properly drafted Health Care Power of Attorney, the Agent has authority to consult with the Principal's
physician, evaluate the risks of certain medical procedures, and
give or withhold consent for the physician to perform the procedure.
The Health Care Power of Attorney only becomes effective when the
Principal is unable to make medical decisions for himself or herself
because of mental incapacity.
THE CUSTODIAL
POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR A MINOR DEALS WITH CHILDREN.
A Custodial Power of Attorney for a Minor is used when a parent or guardian
of a child needs to temporarily appoint another adult to make day-to-day
decisions for a minor child. This type of Power of Attorney should
be used whenever a parent leaves his or her children with another
adult. Our Custodial Power of Attorney document grants broad powers
to give the temporary guardian maximum flexibility and authority.
Q: WHY SHOULD YOU BUY
FROM EASYPOWEROFATTORNEY.COM?
A: Because when you purchase from us, you're going to easily get the customized,
signature ready document you need immediately. Here you only buy
what you need and get it delivered to you for immediate printing.
Furthermore, we don't just sell you a blank form and make you do
the guesswork of filling it out correctly. Instead, we take the
information you provide and insert it in the document where it belongs
for a professionally prepared look every time. Most importantly,
each of our power of attorney forms were drafted by an experienced
attorney so that your satisfaction is guaranteed.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DURABLE AND SPRINGING POWER OF ATTORNEY?
DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY
In a Durable Power of Attorney the Principal gives the Agent immediate powers over the Principal's property. This means that Agent can immediately make important decisions about the Principal's property as soon as the Power of Attorney is signed. The Agent's power continues until the Principal revokes the Power of Attorney or dies. The Power of Attorney continues to be effective even if the Principal becomes mentally incapacitated. Because the Power of Attorney remains effective even after the Principal's incapacity, it is considered to be "durable."
A Durable Power of Attorney is appropriate where the Principal anticipates needing someone else to manage his or her affairs in the near future. This is commonly the case where an elderly parent is going into a nursing home and needs to appoint a grown child to manage the parent's home and bank accounts. A Durable Power of Attorney is also a very handy document for spouses to sign for each other. The document allows each spouse to act for the other concerning any separate property they may own.
SPRINGING POWER OF ATTORNEY
In a Springing Power of Attorney, the Principal gives the Agent all of the same powers over the Principal's property, but those powers do not become effective until the Principal becomes mentally incapacitated. This means that even though the Principal has signed the Power of Attorney, the Agent cannot exercise those powers until the Principal is mentally incapacitated. Usually, mental incapacity is defined as the inability to comprehend and manage one's affairs. A good Power of Attorney requires that two physicians must certify in writing the Principal's mental incapacity. Because the Agent's powers "spring" into existence upon the disability of the Principal, this type of Power of Attorney is called "Springing."
A Springing Power of Attorney is appropriate where the principal does not anticipate losing mental capacity in the immediate future and does not anticipate the need for anyone to manage his or her affairs for any other reason, such as an extended vacation. The Springing Power of Attorney allows the Principal to name someone now in case those unlikely events occur, but without having to worry about the Agent having such broad authority until the event occurs.
|
