Powers of Attorney, lawyers, Attorneys

Powers of Attorney

Although there are many forms of powers of attorney, some general, some specific, some ongoing, some limited to a specific transaction or period of time, the two types discussed in this website are:

Medical Power of Attorney
Statutory Durable Power of Attorney

Medical Power of Attorney

This document gives the person you name as your agent the authority to make any and all health care decisions for you in accordance with your wishes, including your religious and moral beliefs, when you are no longer capable of making them yourself. With this designation, your agent has the power to make a broad range of health care decisions for you. Your agent may consent, refuse to consent, or withdraw consent to medical treatment and may make decisions about withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment. Your agent may not consent to voluntary inpatient mental health services, convulsive treatment, psychosurgery, or abortion. A physician must comply with your agent's instructions or allow you to be transferred to another physician.

Your agent's authority begins when your doctor certifies that you lack the competence to make health care decisions.

Your agent is obligated to follow your instructions when making decisions on your behalf. Unless you state otherwise, your agent has the same authority to make decisions about your health care as you would have had.

It is important that you discuss this document with your physician or other health care provider before you sign it to make sure that you understand the nature and range of decisions that may be made on your behalf. You may also want to discuss this document with your family.

The person you appoint as agent should be someone you know and trust. The person must be eighteen (18) years of age or older or a person under eighteen (18) years of age who has had the disabilities of minority removed. If you appoint your health or residential care provider (e.g., your physician or an employee of a home health agency, hospital, nursing home, or residential care home, other than a relative), that person has to choose between acting as your agent or as your health or residential care provider; the law does not permit a person to do both at the same time.

Even after you have signed this document, you have the right to make health care decisions for yourself as long as you are able to do so and treatment cannot be given to you or stopped over your objection. You have the right to revoke the authority granted to your agent by informing your agent or your health or residential care provider orally or in writing, or by your execution of a subsequent medical power of attorney. Unless you state otherwise, your appointment of a spouse dissolves on divorce.

This document may not be changed or modified. If you want to make changes in the document, you must make an entirely new one.

You may wish to designate an alternate agent in the event that your agent is unwilling or incapable of serving.

Statutory Durable Power of Attorney

The powers granted by this document are broad and sweeping. The powers granted to an agent will cover just about every type of transaction involving personal and real property. Common examples are automobile titles, banking and financial, real estate, Medicare, Medicaid, retirement plans, and stock and bonds. With the advice of knowledgeable counsel, you have the ability to exclude certain types of transactions.

The powers granted by this document become effective as soon as it is signed unless you restrict the powers to become effective upon disability.

This document does not authorize anyone to make medical and other health-care decisions for you. You may revoke this power of attorney if you later wish to do so.

When the person you name accepts the authority granted under the power of attorney, a "fiduciary" relationship is established with you. This is a special legal relationship that imposes legal duties that continues until the agent resigns or the power of attorney is terminated or revoked by the you or by operation of law. A fiduciary duty generally includes a very high responsibility to always put the principal first and not engage in any self-serving transactions.

The agent must maintain and keep records of transactions, and make such transactions known to you.

This form of agency terminates upon your death or in the event of a divorce, and of course, you can terminate this agency at any time.

This document should not be signed until and unless you understand the full scope and possible consequences of such a document. Examples of abuses of the powers granted by signing this document are far too abundant to discuss in this website.

It is highly recommended that you discuss this document with a knowledgeable attorney in this area of the law.