Power of Attorneys
In general, there are two basic kinds of Powers of Attorneys. Those that are durable and those that are not. To begin off with, a power of attorney is the ability to act on behalf of one person for their benefit. This may be in the lines of medical decisions or other financial powers.
All Power of Attorney documents need certain things:
There are various kinds of Power of Attorneys that Minnesota recognizes, which does many different things.
At Bachelani Law Office, we do full Estate Plans, including Power of Attorneys, to ensure that your wishes are passed on and that your best interests are watched after.
All Power of Attorney documents need certain things:
- Capacity of the Donor. This means that the person granting the power of attorney has to the requisite mental state to sign any and all legal documents, including the power of attorney. However, if the grantor were to lose capacity, than it is up to the court to assign a conservator.
- In Minnesota, the power of attorney has to be made in writing. This allows the government, banks and various medical services to accept and follow the parameters of the Power of Attorney.
- Finally, all documents giving specific legal powers has to be signed and notarized. This means that the grantor has to sign it in front of a notary. However, unlike a will, there does not have to be two witnesses for Power of Attorneys.
There are various kinds of Power of Attorneys that Minnesota recognizes, which does many different things.
- Standard Power of Attorney - One of the requirements to obtain a power of attorney is that the grantor have capacity but under a standard power of attorney, once the grantor loses such capacity the power of attorney is immediately revoked because the grantor no longer has the capacity to do it by themselves.
- Durable Power of Attorney - Probably the most common type of power of attorney, this allows the grantee to keep making decisions for the grantor if the grantor loses capacity.
- Financial Power of Attorney - This is a power of attorney where the grantor might be out of the area or not able to make the specific decisions necessary to ensure on going financial well-being. For instance, they may only have capacity for part of the day, the inability to drive or abroad.
- Healthcare Encompassing - Many Power of Attorneys are very limiting in what can be decided by the grantee. However, in Minnesota, we are allowed to combine a healthcare directive with a power of attorney to decide what health decisions to be made.
- Springing Power of Attorney - Finally, many people only want a power of attorney to become effective once an event has occurred. A Springing Power of Attorney allows the grantee to get the power once an event, such as diagnosis of Alzheimer's is diagnosed.
At Bachelani Law Office, we do full Estate Plans, including Power of Attorneys, to ensure that your wishes are passed on and that your best interests are watched after.
