In this article, we are going to talk about various types of Power of Attorney Forms that might come in handy for an attorney or legal needs. POA refers to an important legal document that provides an individual, commonly termed as the "Principal" the opportunity to choose another person, commonly referred to as the "Agent" or "Attorney" to effectively manage their business engagements, health and medical issues, and other activities depending upon the interests of the Principal. Usually, this form is needed to be signed under the knowing of Notary Public or crucial witnesses.
Power of Attorney Form
Getting to have a brief idea about the POA form, it’s time we look at some of the forms by type.
Forms by type –
Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney
Durable (Financial) POA is identification provided to an individual that gives him/her the right to manage financial businesses concerning them. The individual represented through this Durable (Financial) POA should be capable of availing all the benefits from the financial decisions made through this.
The very concept behind the Durable POA is that this form will remain active even if the represented individual or the Principal becomes incapable of thinking or making decisions for themselves.
A Durable (Financial) POA can be annulled by enabling a revocation or selecting another durable POA, or death by the referred individual. Once a revocation is issued or a new durable POA is selected, it is important the agent is informed about the termination of their services. If the agent still continues to act on behalf of the person represented regardless of being informed, then the agent is regarded to be involved in illegal processes.
2. General (Financial) Power of Attorney
General (Financial) POA offers a person or the Principal to choose another individual or the Agent for the only purpose of managing financial matters. In case of the situations where the Principal falters in taking sound and effective financial decisions, the Agent will not be able to help the Principal much based upon the General (Financial) POA.
Through the help of General (Financial) POA the agent selected by the principal will have the obligations to conduct payments, acquire owed money, accessing, leasing, and selling both personal and real property, and handle responsibilities.
You can find a lot of General (Financial) POA forms online in various pdf or doc formats that will help sort your financial matters conveniently. However, it should be noted that this general POA form or document needs to be properly authorized in the presence of Notary Public.
3. IRS Power of Attorney (Form 2848)
IRS POA (Form 2848) empowers an individual to represent a person who is the taxpayer prior to IRS and thus, help the individual to conduct different tax activities on behalf of the taxpayer. This form 2848 is made use of so as to issue for the IRS POA.
With the help of this IRS POA document, the person represented can assign the authority to a person to represent them in cases related to IRS. It should be kept in mind that you authorize an individual who is capable enough to represent you in several tax acts.
The taxpayer has the flexibility to specific tax acts to the representative by mentioning the exact duties of the representative in a statement referring to the POA. Similarly, with this form, the representative has a successful approach towards different tax years and corresponding tax issues as specified on the form 2848.
4. Limited Power of Attorney
Limited POA represents the powers that the representative or the agent will have access to. This limited POA form clearly mentions all the matters that the representative is expected to deal with starting from signing various legal documents to taking relevant decisions. Usually, the limited POA deals with a specific issue or procedure.
The limited POA can be used in several ways. It can be made use of in cases where the person represented assigns the agent to a specific task, for an example investment adviser. It can also be effectuated for a certain time period. A person about to be temporarily unavailable for some urgent work can make use of limited POA to assign a representative to handle the business works and take necessary decisions.
In the limited POA form, the person represented must provide his/her signature, specific date, and necessary witness for the limited POA.
5. Medical (Health Care) Power of Attorney
Medical (Health Care) POA assigns an individual the authority to manage health care activities and take relevant decisions in substitute for the patient. For a detailed description of the exact responsibilities, the patient has to mention the minute information on the document. This is done for future assistance in cases where the patient is unable to take necessary health care decisions of his/her own.
In this medical POA, the representative is not in the authority to select decisions related to “end of life” matters excepting the situations in which the person represented has clearly specified so.
It is very important for the person represented to choose someone they know closely as their representative while making these decisions. You should be well aware of the number of agents to be selected. Make it your prime duty to specify individual powers of the agents in the POA documents.
6. Minor Child Power of Attorney
Minor Child POA authorizes an individual to effectuate decisions related to the represented parent’s child. In this case, the parents do not lose their parental or any custodial rights. Thus, the POA can be filed by a parent or a guardian for a temporary period. The one representing the parent or the guardian in making decisions related to their child is referred to as the agent.
With the minor child POA, the parent cannot be forced to withdraw their parental rights. The parent has got the right to make necessary decisions regarding the child, handle custody, and renounce these powers as per their convenience. The specific rights and decision-making allowances that are to be given to the agent should be clearly mentioned by the parent.
The minor child POA is availed in case of momentary unavailability for education or illness purposes which is valid for a specific time period only.
7. Real Estate Power of Attorney
The Real Estate POA is referred to as an important document that provides authority to an individual to take necessary decisions regarding the handling, selling, leasing, or buying of a property on behalf of the person represented. Basically speaking, the real estate POA offers certain defined as well as extensive powers to manage various tasks and handle important liabilities related to real estate.
This real estate POA form is widely used in matters concerning real estate agents and several attorneys. The principal makes use of the representative to sign various real estate closing documents instead of own self.
While writing a real estate POA form, details about the parties involved should be clearly mentioned. Additionally, the exact purpose of assigning this authority to the representative should be stated. The preferred terms of the document and necessary signatures should not be missed out. Finally, proper Notarization and agent affirmation and signature should be gathered.
8. Revocation of Power of Attorney
A POA, as we have stated before, is made use of by an individual who assigns power to effectuate a document or take necessary decisions to another person who handles these decisions on behalf of the principal.
Once the POA is assigned to an agent by the person represented, proper legal necessities and processes should be understood in case of revocation of the power. The revocation of the POA assigned can be done according to the wish of the principal. However, there is an irrevocable POA that can not be revoked according to the wish of the principal.
9. State Tax Filing Power of Attorney
There are various situations so as to perform the revocation of POA. One such situation is when the principal is no longer satisfied with the agent and is willing for revocation of power assigned to the agent. Another situation is where both the principal and the agent or either one of them is not in sound condition to take important decisions.
10. Vehicle Power of Attorney
The Vehicle POA allows the owner of a vehicle to authorize another individual to manage various decisions and responsibilities on behalf of the vehicle owner. Some of the activities to be performed by the representative include vehicle registration, vehicle selling, and more.
This vehicle POA form is processed and signed in the presence of Notary Public keeping in mind the laws related to POA. It should be kept in mind that the vehicle POA can be used in cases where the vehicle owner is not capable of adhering to the necessities of the vehicle, or there is a requirement of another experienced individual in filing and handling the paperwork and registration activities, or there is the necessity of assigning an agent or attorney-in-fact for matters related to vehicle title transfer.
Upon successful completion of vehicle POA form, the signature of both the vehicle’s owner and the Notary Public is important.
How to get Power of Attorney?
Having understood different types of POA forms, we should look further into the ways to get POA. Below, we have mentioned the steps to get POA.
Selecting an agent: The foremost job in obtaining POA is to select an Agent or Attorney-in-fact. You could ask an individual whom you trust to be your agent. You should highly confide on them and expect that they make decisions that work in favor of your best interest.
Choosing the relevant Power of Attorney form: After choosing an agent, it is mandatory that you choose the correct POA form to proceed further with the process. You should know your issue so as to select the correct form such as Durable POA form or Limited POA form or Real Estate POA form.
Signing all the necessities in the form: After meticulously completing the POA form the principal and the representative have to check the last part of the form for authorization purposes. Usually, in this situation, there is a requirement of a Notary Public or in some cases, a minimum of 2 witnesses.
Gathering original copies of the form: Since the POA is documented with none of the government offices, it is pertinent for all the parties associated to gather copies of this form. This POA is basically retained by the principal and the agent(s) involved.
Revoking Power of Attorney: In situations where the principal wants to revoke the POA of the agent, the person represented has to file a revocation form. In cases where there is no signing of revocation form, the POA will only get called off at the demise of the principal.
How to write a Power of Attorney?
Now that we have seen the steps on how to get a POA, let us look into how to write a POA. Here, we have mentioned the steps to write a POA.
Know your state’s power of attorney conditions: It is useful if you explore the requirements stated by your state. Although most of the states have similar conditions, there can be special form requirements relevant to the POA. A POA document must clearly specify the person represented, the Principal, the representative, the Agent, and all the legal activities that the agent is obliged to follow.
Writing or downloading a form: The POA forms does not necessarily have to be legal files that are written by the government. Nonetheless, making use of a POA template filed by the state is indeed a favorable option.
Mention the parties involved and powers assigned: In the POA forms, the full names of the person assigning the POA, the Principal and the person acquiring the POA, the Agent should be clearly mentioned. It should be also considered by both the Principal and the Agent that there are some powers that cannot be deliberated when acting under the State Law. There is also the facility to appoint substitute agents to come handy in situations where the first agent is not capable or is reluctant of performing or taking decisions at the stipulated time of action.
Signatures and closure: There should be proper signature spaces present in the form with correct dates for both the agent and the whole Notary Public. It should be seen that both the principal and the agent sign the POA form in front of a Notary Public.
Power of Attorney vs Durable Power of Attorney
The term “POA” is widely used in various cases. But there is a certain difference between the general POA and durable POA that you should be aware of. We have stated the Dissimilarities between the POA and durable POA for general knowledge.
A POA is basically a legalized document that allows the person represented, the Principal the rights to assign powers to another individual, the Agent so as to initiate actions and take certain decisions on the behalf of the Principal. The Agent you appoint might not necessarily be an Attorney as well. Durable POA, as discussed earlier, is a legalized document that allows expansion of these powers to the agent even in situations where the principal becomes incapable to take important decisions for own.
The main difference behind POA and durable POA is that in case of a durable POA these powers will be effective as far as the person represented, principal dismisses the powers or demises while the general POA stops once you are hurt or incapacitated. It is always safer to go for a durable POA depending upon your necessities.
How to sign a Power of Attorney
Here, we have mentioned the steps as to how to accurately sign a POA.
- You should have the POA document ready with you. This will come in handy while signing any document provided on behalf of the principal. This will act as a proof for the person or a specific body that you are dealing with.
- It is mandatory that you sign the principal’s name initially and then others so that there is no indication that there is any personal interest involved in this contract.
- After signing the name of the principal, you will sign your name following the word “by”. The importance of mentioning “by” is that the principal is involved in this transaction via the agent. For instance, “John Stass, by Rosy Stass”.
- You should finally conclude your signature by mentioning that you are taking the actions on behalf of the POA. You can mention “agent”, or “POA”, or “attorney in fact” after signing your name.
FAQ
Q: When to use a Power of Attorney?
A: A POA is usually used to seek aid in various financial and health care decisions. You can make use of Medical (Health Care) POA when you are suffering from some disease or are physically hurt. Similarly, there are Real Estate POA, Vehicle POA, and more that can be selected based upon your requirement.
Q: Does a Power of Attorney have to be notarized?
A: It is mandatory that you get your POA notarized in various states to mark the signature authentic. A notary can be easily available in any bank or other financial institutions. It is required of the Principal alone to be available during the notarization of the POA. After the POA is notarized you should provide a copy of this document to the agent and retain the original one with you at a secured place.
Q: What should I do if my parent lives in another State?
A: If your parent resides in some other State, they will proceed with the POA as per the laws and orders of their State. Considering the fact that the POA in the residing state is adhering to that of the Principal’s State of occupancy.
Q: How to change/remove Power of Attorney?
A: When you initiate a new POA and list the similar powers as the earlier one, it will instantaneously lead to the revocation of your earlier POA. It should be kept in mind that the relevant individuals and entities should be informed about the changes or revocation done. You can find Revocation of POA form online and sign it to withdraw the present POA.
Q: Can a Power of Attorney change a Will?
A: A Will can only be altered by the individual who made it. There is no such POA available that will grant an Agent the rights to make any modifications in the Will of the Principal.