How Much Power of Attorney Should You Give to Your Attorney-in-Fact?

One of the most important considerations in creating a power of attorney is how much power you must grant your attorney-in-fact or agent to protect your properties, finances, and interests from abuse. Since the courts do not regulate powers of attorney, the powers may be misused by an attorney-in-fact. As a principal, you do not want this to happen, which is why you must choose carefully the powers you are going to give to your agent.

You have to decide one or more of the following tasks that your attorney-in-fact will carry out on your behalf from time to time:

• manage your properties

• preparing and filing income tax returns

• making decisions regarding health care

• do transactions at the bank and pay your bills

• handle your retirement and insurance benefits

• collect your social security benefits

• handle your legal claims

You have two options when deciding how much authority you are going to allow to your agent. You can give either a general or a limited power. The right choice depends on your needs and preferences when it comes to managing your affairs.

General powers of attorney provide more authority to an attorney-in-fact than the limited type. Because the control granted to an agent is limitless, the general type has a wider scope than the other one. This means that the agent enjoys the same amount of privileges and access to the assets of the principal. For example, the agent can have access to the safety deposit box of the principal and transfer sales or investments, among other powers.

Entrusting all your assets and personal affairs as a principal is like entrusting your life to your attorney-in-fact. Your agent’s decisions regarding your estate will have a direct impact on you, considering the broad freedom granted by general powers of attorney. The agent will decide, for example, where your money and investments will go as well as the kind of nursing home where you will stay.

Simply put, your attorney-in-fact will be in charge of everything that concerns your life as soon as you become mentally incapacitated. That being said, you must make sure that you appoint someone who is worthy of your trust. Your agent can be your relative or trusted friend who can handle well all concerns regarding your finances and other affairs.

However, if you are not confident about entrusting everything to someone else, you may consider giving a number of limited powers of attorney rather just one general power.

As the term implies, limited powers of attorney grant limited and specific control of an attorney-in-fact over the estate of the principal. With such type of power of attorney, a principal can prepare for certain situations without giving full authority to his or her agent. There are various types of limited powers of attorney. Your choice depends on what aspects of your life need important decisions from someone when you are not able to make decisions for yourself.

Some of the limited powers of attorney involve health care, real estate, medical, and financial.

Power of Attorney: What to Consider in Choosing an Attorney-in-Fact

Are you having difficulty choosing your attorney-in-fact? Of course, the choices may seem obvious to you: your spouse, child, brother, sister, or friend. But deciding whom you will entrust your assets, money, and health (even your life) can be very tough. To make the selection process a bit easier for you, take heed of the following considerations that you must include when nominating a person in your power of attorney.

• Age – It is a basic factor in determining whether someone is fit to become your attorney-in-fact. You must choose a person who is a lot younger than you are since he or she can carry out the responsibilities for a longer time compared to the older ones. Also, younger people are relatively healthier than their older counterparts, so you can be sure that they can handle your assets without much hassle.

• The person who can do the duties – Typically, elderly people appoint their eldest child as their agent. But how can you be so sure that your child will be able to perform all the responsibilities? If you have more than one child, it would be wise to divide the POA among the children who can handle the duties you require. Also, it helps to assess your children to determine which ones can decide according to your best interest or your wishes. That means going for someone who will manage your finances and personal matters just as you would have.

• Trust – Your level of trust matters a lot when deciding whom you will authorize to make important decisions on your behalf. Ideally, this person should be someone whom you trust your life with.

• Comfort – The person you will choose to be your agent must be someone who you are comfortable dealing with. On the process of drafting the power-of-attorney document, you will have to discuss all the terms in it, and it is important that the agent won’t be too much of a headache for you.

• Amount of control – How much authority are you willing to grant to your agent in terms of decision-making and performing your tasks on your behalf? That is a crucial decision you need to address when selecting the right attorney-in-fact. You may opt for several limited powers of attorney if you are not comfortable with the idea of giving your agent full control over your assets and personal matters. Limited powers of attorney assign particular tasks to an attorney-in-fact. You may even opt to set a specific period for the authorization to take effect.

• Legal requirements – A person must meet certain requirements according to the laws in your state. One of the requirements in most states is that an agent should be of sound mind to be able to make the right decisions when it comes to the finances, properties, or health of his or her principal.

Creating a power of attorney gives you an assurance that nothing will go wrong with your assets and finances and that your wishes will be carried out just as you planned. Part of that peace of mind comes from choosing the best person who will serve as your attorney-in-fact.