Powers of Attorney concern the handling of your financial matters, while you are still living. Through your Power of Attorney, you can designate one or more individuals to make financial decisions for you. The extent of the authority you give your agents is up to you. You can give your agents power over a particular transaction or more general power over all your affairs.
Powers of Attorney
INTRODUCTION
POWERS OF ATTORNEY FAQs
Yes. If you do not have a Power of Attorney and you become incapacitated, for a family member or friend to be able to handle your financial affairs for you, they would have to seek to be appointed as the Guardian of your Property. The guardianship process is expensive and can be contentious. It could also result in someone being appointed to handle your financial affairs whom you would not have wanted.
People generally choose their spouse or a trusted family member or friend. You may also choose a successor if your first agent is unavailable. You can pick more than one person to act at one time, however, you must choose if they need to act together or can act separately.
Powers of Attorney are revocable at any time. You should seek legal assistance to make your revocation effective, because a financial institution may still honor your Power of Attorney if they have not received proper notice of its revocation.
Yes, for the agent to have the ability to act, they must also sign the Power of Attorney. The agent’s signature is an acknowledgment that they understand that they must act in your best interest.
As long as the Power of Attorney was properly executed on a valid form at the time, the Power of Attorney is still valid today. However, it may be a good idea for you to consider signing a new Power of Attorney because the statutory form changed in June 2021. The new form is more generally recognized by financial institutions.