What is durable power of attorney?

A power of attorney is a document that allows an individual to legally act on behalf of another person.  There are different types of powers of attorney that can be carefully tailored to meet your needs and can contain as few or as many powers as you wish.

For example, a general power of attorney typically provides the person you appoint as your agent a broad series of powers often ranging from the ability to redirect your mail at the post office to managing your bank accounts and taking out loans in your name.
By contrast, a specific power of attorney authorizes an individual to perform a particular act or limited set of actions on behalf of another.  For instance, if you are overseas and cannot sign the documents necessary to sell your home, a specific power of attorney would allow you to grant an individual the specific power to sign those documents but would not authorize your agent to do anything else for you on your behalf.
A durable power of attorney is a power of attorney that survives the disability of the person granting authority to act.  In other words, if you sign a durable power of attorney and then later become incapacitated or unable to make decisions for yourself, your power of attorney will remain valid, and your agent can still act on your behalf.  If you sign a nondurable power of attorney, though, as soon as you became incapacitated, your agent ceases to have authority to act for you.  Any power of attorney can be made durable, so both specific and general powers of attorney can be made durable.

If you have additional questions about powers of attorney or if you would like one drafted, please contact us today, and one of our attorneys will be happy to help.