What is a Power of Attorney?
Power of attorney, commonly abbreviated as power of attorney, may be something that you never thought you’d want to grant. It might be the last part of your estate planning.
However, giving a loved one the power to help you out might be what you end up needing.
It might even prevent you from needing a conservator or a guardian in the case that you become incapacitated. And don’t worry about having to put your entire life into their hands. This part of estate planning law lets you have more control than you might have anticipated. Below, you can read more about what it means to give someone power of attorney.
Duties of Power of Attorney
Having power of attorney is nothing to scoff at. It can range from selling someone else’s estate to finalizing medical decisions for another party. Granting someone POA effectively grants them the ability to be your hands and feet, turning them into something similar to a conservator and/or guardian.
There is a difference, though, as you get to have say in who receives POA. Conservators and guardians are usually only brought in when you’re unable to have a say in the matter.
Whatever legal acts that you, referred to as the principal in this matter, could normally do, the person who receives POA might be able to do as well. The limit to what they can and cannot do may be minor. This person had better have your best interests in mind and know what they’re doing. Assume that once they have their powers, they’re set with those powers as long as you both shall live.
Conservatorship and/or Guardianship
There’s no one-size fits all choice when it comes to the kind of POA that you can grant. Perhaps you want them to have more limited powers or you want their powers to remain intact even if you become incapacitated.
Choosing how much power you grant and how long it lasts can dictate whether or not the person you have in mind can act in a given situation. There are four different kinds of power of attorney that you can grant: general, limited, springing, and durable.
Here’s a short summary on each type. General power of attorney gives the individual several legal powers that you have, granting them almost limitless capabilities. Limited power of attorney only allows the person to do as much as their principal has allowed.
Springing power of attorney only comes into play when you’re incapacitated, making it a potentially more advanced form of guardianship or conservatorship. Durable power of attorney, lastly, is potentially is the kind that lasts the longest as it comes into affect when you want it to and remains in place even if you become incapacitated. The latter kind can be either general or limited. These are all Minnesota probate law issues.
Misconduct Versus Wrong
Intentions are what really make or break someone with POA. Intentional misconduct might be all that they can be called out for. If they make mistakes, they might not be able to be held responsible for those mistakes.
That’s not to say that they’re morally okay if they make a mistake, but you might not be able to take them to court if they meant well. This is especially true for mistakes that are made unknowingly.
Teach them as much as you can when you can. Otherwise, be mentally, physically, and financially ready for all the mistakes they might make. The last thing that you should be doing, when it comes to granting POA to someone, is trusting a random stranger.
Legally speaking, the court will probably hold you to that decision, assuming that you were literally trusting them. You don’t get to claim that you were completely unaware of the situation as you might otherwise be in the case that you were comatose while a guardian and/or conservator took over things. Individuals granted with springing power of attorney don’t get you off the hook either as you set things up in case something should happen.
What is a power of attorney and why
Not every person with POA gets to make both medical and financial decisions. You can grant those powers to two people, one person, or just have one individual with only medical or financial power. The choice is yours. The main factor that you might want to contemplate is what area might you otherwise need a guardian or conservator to do the job.
If you might need a guardian, grant medical POA. If you might need a conservator, grant financial POA. You can also err on the side of giving both kinds of POA just in case.
Consider this. Not granting POA in one area leaves you and your family open to potentially needing a conservator and/or guardian in that area.
That normally means that if they need one, the other, or both, at least one bond might need to be taken out for the conservator and/or guardian. Not to mention the fact that the court will want to verify if you’re actually incapacitated before a conservator and/or guardian does anything.
Conservators and guardians do wonderful work, but it just might be easier on all parties involved if you grant POA in advance.
Minnesota Power of Attorney Lawyer
You don’t need to be set on how much or what kind of powers that you want to grant. For your comfort, take your time in deciding what you want to grant. Perhaps plan on bringing all the individuals that you want to grant POA to while helping them get a better idea of what this all entails.
They’ll probably want to be there with you while you talk through the major decisions. That will help them get a better idea of what you want them to do. Consider speaking to a power of attorney lawyer to get things set up.
With the law firm of Flanders Law Firm LLC, you can give POA to someone that you trust. You can even call in advance by dialing 612-424-0398 to get a free quote.
