Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a written document stating that one person gives to another the full power and authority to represent him or her. The person who gives the power is the principal, and the person who receives the power is the attorney-in-fact or agent. A Power of Attorney must be signed by both the agent and the principal, witnessed by two people and notarized.

There are many ways to designate a decision-maker for you with a Power of Attorney document. You can assign a General Power of Attorney that covers all of your legal, financial and personal decisions except those pertaining to your medical care and treatment, or a Limited Power of Attorney that only covers decision-making in areas that you specify. You can have your Power of Attorney made immediately effective, which means that the agent has the power to represent you now. If you also make the Power of Attorney Durable, the agent's power to represent you will remain in effect in the event you become mentally unable to make decisions on your own (incompentent). Or, you can make it Springing, which means that it becomes effective only in the event you become incompetent.

A very popular use of the Power of Attorney has absolutely nothing to do with mental incompetence. Many military people and overseas contractors prepare Powers of Attorney that are immediately effective, so their wives, husbands or other family members in the United States can deposit paychecks, make purchases, pay bills and otherwise represent them financially or legally while they are away or otherwise not available to handle these matters themselves.