DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

A Durable Power of Attorney enables you to authorize a person to act in your place in the event of your incapacity.  The person you authorize, called the “attorney-in-fact,” can manage your financial affairs without the need to have intervention by the courts.

Giving power of attorney to the "attorney-in-fact" does NOT divest the person who granted the power of his or her own rights to act for himself or herself. This applies whether the power granted is a General or Limited power of attorney.

The principal, the person who grants the power of attorney, can even name 10 separate people, each as a power of attorney. While EACH of the named attorneys-in-fact would have the power to act for the principal, the principal still retains the power to act for him or herself so long as he or she is mentally competent. Importantly, if the power is not a durable power of attorney, it becomes ineffective upon the principal losing competence.

With a General Power of Attorney, the principal gives the named attorney-in-fact very broad powers to act for him or her in virtually any manner or thing that the principal could have acted for him or herself.

With a Limited Power of Attorney, the principal typically gives the person named only certain specific powers, and the person named can do only those things set forth in the power itself, such as sign a lease, or execute a deed, or act from May 1 to June 30.

If the person named attorney-in-fact starts acting in a manner the principal does not like, or the principal just changes his or her mind, the principal can generally revoke the power at any time, orally or in writing, and then the person named as the attorney-in-fact loses all legal right to act.

People and institutions relying on the power of attorney often require the person named as attorney-in-fact to certify that he or she still has the power and that it is in effect and has not been revoked; the attorney-in-fact would be committing fraud by acting on the basis of the power.

• Wills
• Trusts
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Advance Directives
• Probate Administration
• Probate Litigation

HOW DO I GET STARTED?

Call our office at 770-609-1247 and make an appointment for a CONSULTATION with one of our attorneys.  Of course, if you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to call.

We hope you find this information helpful.  Please contact our office if you have any questions.