Power of attorney (POA) forms come in very handy when it becomes difficult to manage your medical and financial affairs on your own. Having a power of attorney gives you the peace of mind of knowing that someone you trust is in charge of your finances and well-being if you should lose the capacity to make those all-important decisions independently.
Thankfully, to make the appointing process much smoother, you can leverage free power of attorney forms. In this post, we’ll help you understand more about POA forms and how you should go about using them.
What is a Power of Attorney Form?
A power of attorney form is a legal document that enables you (in this case, you’re known as the ‘donor’) to appoint one or more people as your ‘agents.’ The people you choose to appoint will have the legal right to make decisions that concern your finances and health on your behalf.
It’s a big decision to entrust your medical and financial affairs to an ‘agent,’ so it’s vital that you know about the different types of forms you can use.
- General Power of Attorney Form: This form allows the agent to handle a variety of legal, financial, and medical decisions on your behalf for a limited period of time. You’d typically opt for a general power of attorney form when you’re in hospital or on holiday and can’t handle your affairs directly.
- Durable Power of Attorney Form: A durable, or financial, power of attorney form enables your agents to control the financial aspects of your life. With this legal right, durable power of attorneys can manage your bank accounts, lease your property, claim your benefits, and more. The key difference between a general and durable power of attorney is that a durable power of attorney does not end if you become mentally incapacitated.
- Medical Power of Attorney Form: This form is just like a durable power of attorney form, except instead of your agent having the legal right to handle your financial affairs, they would manage your healthcare decisions, such as your daily routine and the treatments you receive.
- Limited Power of Attorney Form: A limited power of attorney form only gives your agent control over specific aspects of your affairs, and usually only temporarily. You may find a limited power of attorney form useful if you’re going to be traveling and need someone to pay a certain bill in your absence.
- Springing Power of Attorney Form: While this form enables you to appoint an attorney, the agent’s authority doesn’t take effect immediately. It’s only if you meet the conditions specified in your form that your power of attorney’s authority ‘springs’ into action.
How to Use a POA Form
Filling out POA forms can be daunting. After all, depending on how much control you want your agent to have over your healthcare and finances, there could be a lot at stake for you.
With our easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide, you’ll have a clear plan of action that will make the entire process less nerve-wracking.
- Start by determining what type of POA form you need. Think about your unique lifestyle and short-term/long-term needs. For instance, if you’re a frequent traveler, you may want to fill out a limited POA form, but if you’re aging or ill, a durable or medical POA form may be your ideal option.
- Learn about your state’s specific POA form requirements. For example, in most states, your power of attorney must be notarized. At the same time, in some states like Florida, not only is notarization a requirement, but so is having two witnesses.
- Choose an easily accessible POA form from a trusted provider who can accommodate your state’s unique POA form requirements.
- Next, you need to select your ‘attorney.’ For this decision, you’ll need to ensure whoever you choose is 18 or older, capable, trustworthy, and willing to accept their new responsibilities.
- Now, it’s time to add some details to your form, including your and your agent’s personal information. From there, you’ll outline what powers your agent will have, the limits of said powers, and for how long they will have them. You should also add any additional duties and special instructions for your agent if necessary.
- Sign the form in front of a notary or witnesses, whichever is required by your state.
- Create, store, and distribute copies of your form accordingly.
Common POA Form Mistakes to Avoid
There are a few common pitfalls that you should avoid when using a POA form, including the following:
- Using pencil or Tippex
- Not double-checking whether your form details match the details in your supporting documents
- Forgetting full names, including middle names
- Not specifying the agent’s responsibilities
- Submitting the form in the wrong order or with missing pages
Conclusion
Using a well-drafted power of attorney form is an important step in protecting both your interests and your future. There are many trusty forms you can rely on, the kind that will allow you to pen your wishes without fuss, all while adhering to your state’s unique requirements.
