Durable Power of Attorney (POA) Form

The Durable Power of Attorney is a must-have document if you want to have more confidence in an emergency. This form allows your designated trustee to make important decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. In the unpredictability of life, it is good to have at least the certainty that your preferred decisions will be made, even if you cannot do it yourself.

This document empowers your agent to make financial, legal, or medical decisions about you or your property if you become incapacitated.

There are several types of this form:

• Durable Power of Attorney (Durable POA)
• General Power of Attorney (General POA)
• Medical Power of Attorney (Medical POA)

Regardless of the type of this document, it must contain key elements:

• Information about the Principal — your full name, address, contact details, birth date, email
• Information about your Agent — full name, address, contact details, email
• You also can indicate several backup agents
• List of arrangements the agent can make on your behalf
• Special instructions and limitations for your agent
• Principal’s signature with written name and date
• Witnesses signatures
• Notary acknowledgment

When You May Need a Durable POA

We mentioned that this document is a great tool for making decisions on your behalf in case of incapacitation. But it is also worth saying that this is not the only model for using this form:

• If you are going to live or work abroad for a long time, you may want to appoint an Agent. An agent will take care of your business while you are outside the United States and cannot perform some tasks remotely.
• Military personnel often fill out such forms so that their agents can make decisions in their absence and case of incapacity upon return from service.
• Young people who want to travel for a long time also resort to the preparation of such documents so that someone they trust is engaged in their affairs.

• The tasks of an agent may include:
• Banking operations
• Handling retirement or government benefits
• Real estate activities
• Medical decision making
• Invoicing
• And other actions

Durable POA vs. General POA

There are general and limited forms. Restricted forms apply only to specific situations and only allow an agent to take a specific action. While general forms have a broader effect and can relate not only to legal but also financial and medical issues.

If you issue a power of attorney (not the durable one), which is normal in terms of validity, then the document ceases to be valid if your mental incompetence is established. This is the main difference between Durable POA: due to the special wording, the document is valid even in the case of the Principal’s mental incompetence. This type of power of attorney is specially created for situations in the future when you will not be able to plan important decisions due to age or other changes.

Durable POA entitles your agent or agents to act on your behalf. The action can be taken both immediately or only in case of incapacity.

If an accident strikes and you are unable to take care of your finances or make other important decisions on your own, then your agent can use a durable POA. If there is no such document, then they will first have to go to court to declare your incapacity.

Durable POA vs. Medical POA

In some states, laws allow medical solutions to be included in Durable POA. However, it is recommended that you create separate forms for financial and medical purposes. On the plus side, you can designate different people as your agents. This will make you more confident that financial and medical decisions will be made for your benefit and not someone else’s.

We can say that the word “durable” simply means the duration of the form, but not that it guarantees a medical power of attorney. Therefore, the best solution would be to draw up a separate contract that will deal with medical decisions.

Medical POA is created for when you are unable to decide on your treatment; for instance, you are unconscious or in a coma. You assign your agent to communicate with doctors and make treatment decisions until you can do it yourself.

How to Choose an Agent Under a Durable POA?

Selecting an agent can be a daunting task and should be approached wisely. This person can literally decide your fate.

By law, this must be a person who has reached the age of 18. This could be your spouse, family member, or a close friend. You can also hire a lawyer or other specialist to be sure that qualified decisions will be made in your favor.

It is worth making sure that your agent:

• Ready to take responsibility
• Has sufficient knowledge to make the right decisions
• Respects your values ​​and judgments, and is willing to adhere to them
• Has your complete trust

Remember that the agent you choose will have the authority to make very important decisions on your behalf. Therefore, this step must be seriously considered. You may want to consider appointing multiple agents to heighten your peace of mind.

Is It Possible to Revoke a Durable POA?

In normal situations, the document ceases to be valid upon the death of the principal or upon the onset of the date specified in the form. But also, the principal can decide on early termination of the agreement. To do this, you need to draw up a revocation of power of attorney.

Some states allow you to terminate a durable POA simply by destroying the document. But this is not a very good way since there is no visual confirmation of the action. Your best bet would be to draw up a revocation and send it to all your designated agents. This will prevent the agent from challenging the principal’s decisions.

In addition, the agents can decide for themselves to terminate their powers. In this case, the agent must notify the principal in writing and draw up an official letter. Or the form itself may have different instructions for the agent to exit the agreement. And, of course, the agent automatically ceases to bear their duties when they die.