Understanding Power of Attorney

In the legal community, a power of attorney is essentially a binding document that allows an individual to appoint another person or organization to handle his or her affairs in the event that the individual cannot.  The person appointed is called an "Agent" or an "Attorney-in-Fact".  There are four types of Power of Attorney:

Special Power of Attorney - authorizes an Agent to act on an individual's behalf in specific situations.

General Power of Attorney - authorizes an Agent to act on an individual's behalf in a variety of situations.

Health Care Power of Attorney - authorizes an Agent to act on an individual's behalf to make health decisions if the individual is too ill to do so.

Durable Power of Attorney - by adding specific text to the document, the general, special and health care powers of attorney are made "durable", which means that the document will take effect if the individual becomes ill, mentally incompetent or incapacitated.

If you have additional questions about Power of Attorney or estate planning, contact a Los Angeles family law attorney today!