The Basic Purpose Of A Power Of Attorney   by Jeremy Winters

in Law    (submitted 2012-02-06)

A power of attorney is a written authorization to act or represent on behalf of another person in matters relating to private affairs, business and legal issues. The person who authorizes someone to act on his behalf is called a donor or grantor whereas the person to whom the power to act is granted is called a donee or agent. The donee who is authorized to act on behalf of someone else has to act in an honest way as prescribed by the law.

Usually, a power of attorney is given when a person is unable to perform certain things on his own. There are many reasons why people authorize someone to act on their behalf. Health issues and inability to do certain tasks are some of the reasons why people allow someone to act on their behalf. Authority relating to health care or legal matters are some of the common types of authority granted to someone else.

Since granting such an authorization may be risky, people grant such an authority to those who are in close relationship with them or those who are very trustworthy. Granting authority to act on your behalf means that the person has the power to do a list of things and make decisions on your behalf. The situation becomes more risky in cases of financial and legal matters. As a result, it is very important to think twice before giving authority to someone to act on your behalf.

The authority becomes null and void when the grantor of the authority becomes insane or incapacitated or dies. However, this is not the case with a durable power of attorney which allows the donee to act on behalf of the grantor, even if the grantor of authority becomes mentally incapacitated. Such an authority is very useful in case you become mentally incapacitated so that someone can act and make decisions on your behalf to look after your health and finances.

However, the biggest downside of granting authority to someone else is that the authority could be misused by the donee or the agent. There are many examples of misuse of authority by the donee. This is particularly true in cases involving financial matters. As a result, it is very important to grant authority to someone who is trustworthy and honest.

Though there are some chances of misuse of authority by donee, the grantor can revoke the authority at any time if he suspects misuse of authority by the agent or donee. If used wisely and granted to a trustworthy person, a power of attorney can be very useful to perform tasks which you are unable to do on your own.

About the Author

Do you need a power of attorney? Be sure to visit Power of Attorney Form for complete information on preparing a power of attorney.