“A ‘power of attorney’ (POA) is the document that a person signs to give another person the legal authority to act on his/her behalf.”
The concept of a power of attorney sounds simple but there is a lot to know about this important part of an estate plan, says the Rushville Republican in “Financial power of attorney responsibilities.” Whether you are named as someone’s power of attorney or you are considering who to name on your behalf, it is important to understand the terminology, the role and the responsibilities.
The person who signs the POA is called the “principal” and the person to whom authority is given, is often referred to as the “attorney in fact” or the “agent.”
What powers are given to the person who becomes the agent? In some POAs, there are limits placed on the person, but in most cases the power is “general.” In these cases, the agent can do whatever the individual would do. That includes opening bank accounts, buying and selling property, managing investments, filing taxes, cashing checks and closing accounts. An agent is a considered a fiduciary of the principal, which means that he has a legal duty to act in the principal’s best interest.
The agent may not change the principal’s will and he is not permitted to transfer such authority to act as an agent for the principal to anyone else, unless specifically authorized in the POA itself.
There are different types of POAs. When they become effective, depends on their type. A financial POA is typically effective the moment it’s signed by the principal. However, a “springing” POA becomes effective, only when a specific event, which is described in the POA document, takes place. If the springing POA is to take effect when the principal becomes incapacitated, usually one or more physicians must agree that the principal can no longer make decisions on their own behalf. If you have been named a POA, talk with the principal about their intentions.
The POA generally is not recorded in a courthouse. If you are signing a document for the principal that does have to be recorded with the county, like a deed to a house, then you will need to present and record the POA with the county recorder, before the document can be recorded. The laws in your state or county may be different, so check with your estate planning attorney to be certain.
Some people decide to have more than one agent. It’s not unusual, but it can lead to some complications. The wording should include the agents being appointed “severally,” so that they can act independently of one another, if that is appropriate under the circumstances. If one person is on the West Coast while the principal and another agent live on the East Coast, not having the ability to act independently could create problems for the agent and the principal.
The POA should remember to keep his assets and the principal’s assets separate. Money should not be intermingled in bank accounts or investment accounts. This is a very important point, since the fiduciary responsibility is a serious matter. The POA can be changed or revoked by the principal at any time, as long as she is mentally competent.
The POA ends with the death of the principal. It is meant to be used as a helpful tool, while the person is living. After the person dies, the executor takes over as the personal representative of the person’s estate.
Speak with your estate planning attorney about making the decisions as to who should be your Power of Attorney. This is a very important role and it must be someone who you can trust implicitly and who is also willing to take on the responsibilities.
Reference: Rushville Republican (Jan. 22,2019) “Financial power of attorney responsibilities”
“'財務授權書'"是一份文件讓一個人簽署給予他人權力去代表他處理財務。”
Rushville Republican在“Financial power of attorney responsibilities.”中說，財務授權書的概念聽起來很簡單，但這個關於資產計劃的重要文件還有很多東西需要知道。無論你是否被人授權為代理人，或是你正在考慮授權某人來代表您，了解有關術語，角色和責任都是非常重要的。
簽署財務授權書的人稱為“委託人”，被授予權力的人通常被稱為“實際代表人”或“代理人”。
成為代理人有什麼權力？在一些財務授權書中，對代理人有限制，但在大多數情況下，權力是“廣泛”。在一般情況下，代理人可以做任何財政上的事情。包括開立銀行賬戶，買賣房產，管理投資，提交稅款，兌現支票和結賬。代理人被視為委託人的受託人，這意味著他有法律義務以委託人的最佳利益來行事。
除非財務授權書本身有具體說明，否則代理人不得更改委託人的遺囑，並且不得將此權力轉給其他人。
有不同類型的財務授權書。由什麼時候有效取決於它們的類型。財務授權書通常在委託人簽署的那一刻起生效。但是，“啟動” 財務授權書只有在財務授權書中描述的特定事件發生時才生效。如果“啟動”財務授權書要在委託人失去能力時生效，那通常必須得到一位或多位醫生同意委託人不能再代表自己做出決定。如果您被命名為代理人，請與委託人討論他的意願。
財務授權書通常不會記錄在法院中。如果您為委託人所簽署的文件必須於縣政府登記，例如房屋契約，那麼您需要在記錄文件之前向縣政府人員出示並記錄財務授權書。您所在州或縣的法律可能不同，因此請諮詢您的資產規劃律師以確定。
有些人有多個代理人。這並不罕見，但這可能會把事情複雜化。應要寫明這些代理人是“個別”委任，以便他們可以在這種情況下適當地獨立行事。如果一個人在西岸，而委託人和另一個代理人在東岸，那麼沒有獨立行事的權力可能會給代理人和委託人造成麻煩。
代理人應該謹記將他的資產和委託人的資產分開。錢不應混合在銀行賬戶或投資賬戶中。這是非常重要的一點，因為代理人的責任是非常重大的。只要委託人精神沒問題可隨時更改或撤銷代理人。
財務授權書在委託人去世時便沒有效。即是說這個是在生時很有用的文件。在去世後，遺囑執行人便會接管該人的遺產。
與您的資產規劃律師討論如何決定誰應該成為您的財務代理人。這是一個非常重要的角色，這人必須是你信賴並且願意承擔責任的人。
參考: Rushville Republican (Jan. 22,2019) “Financial power of attorney responsibilities”