Davis County Power of Attorney

Appointing a Trusted Person to Make Decisions on Your Behalf

If you’re creating an estate plan, you should consider making a power of attorney document that specifies who can make decisions for you when you no longer can. After all, there might be a time in your life when you’re incapacitated, leaving you unable to make decisions regarding your finances, healthcare, or other matters.

Choosing the most appropriate person for this role and deciding which matters they’ll be responsible for can be challenging. This is why you should hire a lawyer experienced with helping clients file power of attorney forms in Utah. Contact Able & Strong Law, Inc. in Davis County if you have questions about the power of attorney form.

What Is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone to handle your affairs when you no longer can due to mental or physical limitations. For example, if you develop dementia or become unconscious, you’ll need to give power of attorney to a person you trust to make decisions for you. Similarly, if you can’t physically sign a document due to an injury, having a person acting on your behalf to sign it is helpful.

When it comes to a power of attorney, the appointed person is called the agent, while you’re called the principal. Once you choose an agent, you must decide whether to give them broad authority over several areas of your life or keep their authority strictly limited to one or two areas.

For example, your agent’s authority could include managing your bank accounts and applying for public benefits for you when they have power of attorney. By contrast, you might restrict the agent’s specific authority to selling one piece of real property for you. Either way, the agent must follow the principal’s wishes, so choose a person you can trust to carry out the duties stated on your power of attorney form.

What Should You Know Before Making a Power of Attorney?

The first step of making a power of attorney is to consider who you trust as an agent. Note that you can choose two co-agents who can use their authority independently to make decisions. You can also select a successor agent to take on this role if the first agent resigns, passes away, or cannot complete the duties stated on the power of attorney document.

Before you decide, you should know that Utah’s Uniform Power of Attorney Act outlines rules for your power of attorney document. To start, the principal must be of sound mind and willing to sign the power of attorney form in front of a notary public. If they can’t physically sign it, a person acting on their behalf in the principal’s conscious presence can sign it before a notary public at the principal’s direction.

Additionally, the Utah code of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act states that if the principal lives at or is planning to live at a hospital, skilled nursing facility, assisted living facility, or similar residential care facility, the person appointed as their power of attorney cannot be the owner or employer of the facility. The only exception is if the owner or employer is the principal’s spouse, legal guardian, or next of kin, or if the power of attorney specifically restricts them to establish eligibility for Medicaid.

What Are the Types of Powers of Attorney?

Before making a power of attorney document, you should consider the types available according to Utah law. They include:

• General power of attorney: This lets your agent manage any matters in your life that you would normally handle, from financial and business deals to legal and hiring decisions.
• Financial power of attorney: With this document, you can assign an agent to handle one specific piece of your financial situation or all financial matters, from selling real property to paying bills.
• Medical power of attorney: This lets the agent make health care decisions when you’re unable to do so.
• Special power of attorney: Also known as a limited power of attorney, this lets your agent act on your behalf only for a specific task and expires once it’s done.
• Durable power of attorney: This means your agent’s authority continues after you become incapacitated, as there is no end date on this legal document.
• Springing power of attorney: This takes effect only when a certain event occurs, such as if you’re hospitalized, and it ends when you become incapacitated or pass away.

A Utah lawyer experienced with helping clients complete power of attorney forms can decide which option is suitable based on whether you want your agent to make all health care decisions or only complete specific tasks. Call our Utah law office to learn more about this helpful legal tool.

Should You Call a Utah Law Firm To Discuss Your Davis County Power of Attorney?

If you have questions about choosing an agent or determining the extent of this person’s decision-making authority, you should contact a Utah law office for help with your power of attorney forms. At Able & Strong Law, Inc., we understand how confusing this legal tool can be, especially if you have complex arrangements to make or want to give more than one agent power of attorney.

When you hire us for assistance with your power of attorney document, we’ll guide you as you determine the agent’s duties and how far you want the agent’s authority to extend. If you have questions about how a durable power of attorney could benefit you, how to prevent possible financial exploitation, or how a power of attorney could affect your business, we’ll provide the answers you need. Call our Utah law office at 385-438-8801 to discuss the power of attorney process during your consultation.