Enduring Power of Attorney
Before we look at what is an Enduring Power of Attorney, let’s understand what a Power of Attorney is.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that you create to authorize another person to act on your behalf. The person that gives the authority is called the principal, the person given the authority is called the agent or attorney in fact. The agent need not be a lawyer.
There are 3 types of Power of Attorney.
The general Power of Attorney. A general Power of Attorney gives broad and wide powers to the agent. This includes but not limited to handling financial and banking transactions, sale and purchase of property, entering into contracts, settling claims and others. It is usually very wide in scope of authority given to the agent.
A special Power of Attorney on the other hand is more specific and limited in nature. Thus the agent is limited to what he or she is authorize to do. For example just to sell a specific property, you would use a specific Power of Attorney.
A health care Power of Attorney, also known as an advance directive, authorizes the agent, to make health care decision when you are not able to do so because of either you are unconscious or mentally incapable of making any medical decision.
So what is a Enduring Power of Attorney? Also called a Durable Power of Attorney, it is either a General, a Special or a Health are Power of Attorney with special provision that enables it to remain in effect or to only take effect when the principal is no longer mentally competent. If a Power of Attorney is not made Durable, then it becomes inoperative when the principal is no longer mentally competent.
So depending on situation, your Power of Attorney should be an Enduring Power of Attorney or just a normal Power of Attorney. You can learn more about Power of Attorney and how to create an affordable one here.
