Types Of Power Of Attorney

Power of attorney is not a person or some kind of law. It is a document that allows a person to represent another to handle their business and other personal affairs. This often happens when the principal or the grantor (the one who is authorizing another person to act in their stead) is unavailable or not present when the deal comes through. This is very common among executives of corporations especially those in the higher ups, who need to take care of business in all parts of the globe. If they cannot make it to one area, they usually send a representative with a power of attorney to sign their documents for them.

In corporations, the grantee or the proxy (the one given the power of attorney) is often an attorney to keep things legal but in truth, anybody can be given a power of attorney, even those who are not lawyers. In fact, this is why proxies like these are often called attorney in fact to differentiate them from attorney at law. In the United States, the word attorney is commonly used to refer to them.

There are however many types of power of attorney depending on the nature of the contract, the scope of the power and the period that it is valid. The most common is of course the general power of attorney which authorizes the agent to act on your behalf and to represent you in dealings and other matters. It covers all kinds of transactions. The validity of the agreement or the contract will of course be stated on the document.

The special power of attorney on the other hand only gives an agent the authority to act specific matters. For instance, you can authorize an agent to sign a business contract for you but only that business contract and no other documents. Some are also given a section, for instance, a special power of attorney to look into the financial matters and to manage it and sign documents pertaining only to financials.

A power of attorney will only last on the stated date and if there is no date specified, it will cease to be effective when the principal becomes gravely ill, incapacitated or mentally incompetent.

The Health Care power of attorney is one that allows a grantee of the document to decide on your health care service should the principal be deemed incapable of making a decision. This is very sensitive because the grantee will have the power to allow or disallow health care and will even be able to decide if hospitals will pull the plug in case the principal falls into a coma. There is also what they call the Psychiatric Advance Directives, which gives the grantee the right to decide for the care and treatment of someone who is mentally ill. Sometimes, this is appointed by the parents or by the courts, depending on who had guardianship on the person.

Anytime, the power of attorney given to a person can be revoked regardless of the specified period stated in the document. This is especially true when trust has been broken.