Power of Attorney Form

The difference between a durable power of attorney and other power of attorney forms is that a durable type remains valid even in cases where the principal suffer incapacitation or becomes incompetent while others become invalid when this happens. In a nutshell, a durable power of attorney form is used when you intend to appoint and authorize someone on your behalf in case you become incompetent legally and also in case of incapacitation. In fact this is the reason while it is called durable. It is important to understand that any power of attorney form can be made durable as it is just an attribute given to your power of attorney form. The durable power of attorney form works like any other power of attorney in the sense that you can appoint an agent of your choice to make decisions on your behalf. Also note that the durable power of attorney form does not stop you from creating other powers of attorney.

Not all powers of attorney are actually the same. In fact, they are most times characterized by the functions and specifics they offer. A general power of attorney form is a legal form which gives a broad authorization to the agent. In this type of attorney, the agent is authorized to make broad decisions which could include decisions bothered on legal choices, medical decisions, business and financial decisions. Unlike the special power of attorney, the spectrum of the general power of attorney is very large and is normally used when a person does not want to give powers of attorney to different agents to act on his behalf. It is important to state that any power of attorney issued by the principal to an agent on the general power of attorney form ceases to be valid when the principal become mentally incapacitated unless it is made durable.

The limited power of attorney is a kind of power of attorney that specifies the power the agent will have. It is different from the general power of attorney in the sense that the authority given to the agent is limited if the principal issues a limited power of attorney form. Limited power of attorney form usually covers just a single matter or process. For example, it could be simple as a contract signing by an agent when the principal is unavailable to sign due to an illness or an absence. It is important to note that the principal also has the powers to limit a power of attorney to just a single activity such as handling of business investments. Also note that the principal can also limit the time frame to a specific period of time especially when the principal is unavailable for a specific period of time.

This is a little bit different in the sense that the revocation power of attorney form is used by the principal to revoke the authority he or she gave to another person to act on their behalf. It normally works when where the principal is no longer interested with the existing power of attorney and wish to assign it to someone else or in situations where the person is incapacitated and cannot make decisions. Using the revocation of power of attorney form gives you the authority to rescind or cancel an initial authority granted to an agent or organization to act on your behalf. With this, you can change agent or simply go on without any. In all, the revocation of power of attorney form can help you in updating to your current needs as at it arises. Note that it is within the power of the principal to revoke the power of attorney of his agent without any question.

The special power of attorney form could be used in place of a limited power of attorney form in the sense that they are focused on granting limited power to an agent. It is applicable to a principal who intends to limits his or her agent’s authority by granting powers on specific circumstances. The special power of attorney unlike a general power of attorney offers limited powers for a specific duty. Because you may be too busy and cannot attend to some certain situations at some time, a special power of attorney is issued to any agent you choose to represent you, stating clearly what purpose and extent he or she can act on your behalf. It is important to understand that the acts to be performed by the agent must be stated clearly to avoid any ambiguity. It must be signed, added and in some cases notarized if desired by the principal.

The health care power of attorney form mainly talks about making health care decision. A health care power of attorney form is a legal document primarily used by a patient to inform his or her professional health givers about his decisions on his healthcare treatment that would come into effect should he or she becomes incapacitated to make his or her own decision due to problems that are likely to arise following his or her incapacity. Also, the health care power of attorney form is used to appoint another specified person known as the agent who is designated to make decision on behalf of the patient. The specified person is empowered to issue instructions to the healthcare givers on behalf of the patient. The health care power of attorney form can be durable and the healthcare decisions for the principal could be up to terminating care and life support.