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What Is Power Of Attorney
What is a Power of Attorney?
A power of attorney is a piece of document that gives the holder power to handle your affairs if you are not able to do so. Such a person acts as your agent and deals with all your affairs such as your property, money, business, etc. The person who grants this power to another is called a donor or granter. It may be an oral agreement or a written agreement. It can even be an electronically documented agreement. In most places oral agreements do not need witnesses. However, for certain specific applications only written agreements are accepted.
There are different forms of power of attorney. The General Power of Attorney gives your agent the right to deal with your general affairs under a number of different circumstances while a Special Power of Attorney has the right to act on your behalf only on specific occasions as specified by you. A Health Care Power of Attorney is one who has the right to make decisions regarding your health in case you are incapacitated and unable to do so yourself. A power of attorney can also be made durable if you want. Such a document will take into effect if your mental health fails and you cannot make your own decisions.
A general power of attorney deals with situations like handling bank transactions, managing safety deposit boxes, settling loans, entering into agreements and contracts, buying or selling property, securities, etc. A special power of attorney also deals with the same situations with the only difference that he or she can handle only one or a few of the situations as indicated by the granter. A health care power of attorney as already indicated deals with health issues. For instance, if you become comatose, then the person will have the right to decide if you should be kept on a life support system or not.
In Canada, power of attorney is governed by the law of agency which is a part of the common law. The agency law deals with the way in which one person delegates his or her authority to another person who acts as an agent. The agent has to agree to the contract for it to take effect and the donor has the right of terminating it whenever he or she wishes to. When the agent makes a contract with a third party, then the donor or principle is also bound by the contract even though he or she might have never met the third person. However the agent might be sued if they make any mistakes in the decisions they make after being appointed the power of attorney.
Appointing a power of attorney is no easy task. Firstly the agent must be a trustworthy person or the agents mistakes could cost you dearly. Also since the laws governing such agreements vary from one province to another, it is better to check with your local lawyers before you sign any agreement.
A power of attorney is a piece of document that gives the holder power to handle your affairs if you are not able to do so. Such a person acts as your agent and deals with all your affairs such as your property, money, business, etc. The person who grants this power to another is called a donor or granter. It may be an oral agreement or a written agreement. It can even be an electronically documented agreement. In most places oral agreements do not need witnesses. However, for certain specific applications only written agreements are accepted.
There are different forms of power of attorney. The General Power of Attorney gives your agent the right to deal with your general affairs under a number of different circumstances while a Special Power of Attorney has the right to act on your behalf only on specific occasions as specified by you. A Health Care Power of Attorney is one who has the right to make decisions regarding your health in case you are incapacitated and unable to do so yourself. A power of attorney can also be made durable if you want. Such a document will take into effect if your mental health fails and you cannot make your own decisions.
A general power of attorney deals with situations like handling bank transactions, managing safety deposit boxes, settling loans, entering into agreements and contracts, buying or selling property, securities, etc. A special power of attorney also deals with the same situations with the only difference that he or she can handle only one or a few of the situations as indicated by the granter. A health care power of attorney as already indicated deals with health issues. For instance, if you become comatose, then the person will have the right to decide if you should be kept on a life support system or not.
In Canada, power of attorney is governed by the law of agency which is a part of the common law. The agency law deals with the way in which one person delegates his or her authority to another person who acts as an agent. The agent has to agree to the contract for it to take effect and the donor has the right of terminating it whenever he or she wishes to. When the agent makes a contract with a third party, then the donor or principle is also bound by the contract even though he or she might have never met the third person. However the agent might be sued if they make any mistakes in the decisions they make after being appointed the power of attorney.
Appointing a power of attorney is no easy task. Firstly the agent must be a trustworthy person or the agents mistakes could cost you dearly. Also since the laws governing such agreements vary from one province to another, it is better to check with your local lawyers before you sign any agreement.
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retirement planning
