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What is Signing Power of Attorney? Power of attorney is a legal document which empowers someone else to act on your behalf in legal or financial matters. It is a legally binding document and not to be signed lightly. It is generally used for some specific purpose where the person granting the power of attorney has to be present but is unable to do so. After signing power of attorney it becomes valid immediately and remains so till the donor dies or has become incapacitated for whatever reason. It can be used for conducting business transactions in real estate, stock market, and for various other specified tasks like collecting rent or negotiating checks and promissory notes, etc. It has to be witnessed by a third party, who is not the spouse or child of either the donor or the agent.

In Canada, the power of attorney has to be accompanied by a declaration from the donor to certify that he is in control of his faculties. Some restrictions imposed by the law are that the power of attorney cannot be used to transfer custody of children and to make medical decisions. Some of the general limitations that are associated with the power of attorney are that the attorney-in-fact is not eligible for compensation of any sort for their work, but only for reimbursement of any expenses incurred while discharging their duties.

They are prohibited from personally benefiting from the power of attorney. The attorneys-in-fact are bound to carry out their duties arising out of the power of attorney and they cannot delegate it to someone else. Your attorney-in-fact cannot be named guardian of your children or conservator. The Power of Attorney Act governs this document and its usage and all issues and disputes arising from such usage. The Canadian Power of Attorney Act states that just by signing power of attorney, the donor or principal confers authority and duty on the attorney or agent.

It can also confer this authority on more than one attorney acting separately or together, as the case may be, to carry out on behalf of the principal or donor any deed that the he can lawfully do, subject to conditions and restrictions that are mentioned in the power of attorney.

The law states that the ‘agent’ includes an attorney acting under a power of attorney and that ‘knowledge’ denotes knowledge of circumstances that would put a reasonable person on inquiry. It further states that the term ‘terminated’ stands for when the authority bestowed by the power of attorney is revoked by the agent or by law or both. The donor has the duty and obligation to ensure that the person he appoints as his agent is competent and trustworthy before signing power of attorney. But the agent need not necessarily be a lawyer.

The Power of Attorney can be revoked simply by completion of the task for which it was specified. Or by revoking, either orally or in writing, that the power of attorney is revoked, and also by renouncement: the donor informs or indicates that the power of attorney is renounced. A special power of attorney can contain special language that is restricting or empowering to carry out certain specific deeds. What is Signing Power of Attorney?



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