What do you do when you need something important taken care of but are not available to do it yourself? You are on vacation, out of town or simply unavailable? A simple answer would be to appoint another person (your agent) to act for you (the principal)? The legal name for this type of document is a Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney is a very useful tool. When choosing your agent (the person who is to act for you) you must be very careful that this person is one that you trust to take care for your needs when you cannot.


A POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA) is a written authorization to represent or act on another’s behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter. The person authorizing the other to act is the principal, grantor, or donor (of the power). The one authorized to act is the agent or attorney or, in some jurisdictions, the attorney-in-fact.
It is important to be prepared for life’s unexpected events. A Power of Attorney is a useful tool to allow someone who you trust to act for you in various scenarios. When preparing a Power of Attorney, it is extremely important to know what you wish the Power to be used for and what limits you are putting on your agent’s use of those powers.. There are many different types of Power of Attorney either specific in nature or more general. Which one do I choose?

GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
A general Power of Attorney will include powers established by the Principal to give the agent the right to act for the principal in the situations that the principal (you) cannot so act. These powers may include among others real property, banking, investing and bill paying authority.

SPECIFIC POWER OF ATTORNEY
A specific Power of Attorney allows an agent to act for a principal in a specific instance or event. The document must specifically address the area in which the power is to be used and must specifically exclude all other scenarios. This is very prevalent in real estate transactions wherein a principal gives power to an agent to act in furtherance of that specific real estate transaction. Specificity must include the legal description of the property and the enumerated powers granted by the principal.

DURABLE VS. NON DURABLE
Do I use a Durable Power of Attorney or a Non Durable Power of Attorney?
The issue of durability is extremely important. Durability is defined as the ability to endure. Practically, it means that the Power of Attorney will survive the incompetence of the principal. If the principal is under a disability (either physical or mental) after the execution of the Power of Attorney, such disability will not render said Power of Attorney useless. It will still retain all it’s powers and useability throughout the period of disability suffered by the principal.
A Non Durable Power of Attorney would be useless if in the event the Principal became disabled (mentally or physically) if said disability occurred after the execution of the Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a very useful and helpful tool. However it must be used carefully and powers granted to only those in an extremely trustful relationship with the Principal.

At QUICKLAWDOCS.COM we offer you all the different types of Powers of Attorney necessary for your needs. Armed with the proper information and choosing wisely, it will serve you well to accomplish your needs.

Source:- http://www.quicklawdocs.com/blog/power-of-attorney/