What You Should Know About a Power of Attorney
If you’re about to undergo major surgery or have been diagnosed with a debilitating disease, you definitely want to consider filling out a power of attorney document. These documents allow you to appoint an individual or company to handle your affairs in the event that you are no longer able to do so. Since there are several different POA types, it’s important to understand how much control each type provides.
Power of Attorney Types to Consider
There is a variety of different power of attorney types that you’ll want to consider, the primary of which is a general power of attorney. This type of POA provides the person or organization with relatively broad powers over your affairs, which means that they can handle health care decisions, financial and business transactions, and much more. A health care power of attorney is used specifically to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you in the event that you are mentally incompetent or unconscious. This is similar to a living will. Finally, a special power of attorney is one where you can specify the exact types of decisions that the person or company can make on your behalf.
Make Sure That You Appoint the Right Person
It’s essential that you appoint someone you trust to be your POA. This individual could be making medical, financial, or business decisions for you, which means that you need to have complete confidence that this person will make decisions that adhere to your wishes.
How to Finalize Power of Attorney Form
If you’ve found someone who has agreed to be your power of attorney, keep in mind that you will need to sign and notarize the power of attorney document. Several copies of this document will also need to be certified. Certain businesses and banks won’t allow the POA to make decisions for you unless they’ve received a certified copy of the document. You should also think about meeting with an estate planning attorney in Las Vegas to make sure that all legal requirements for a POA have been met.
