A common mistake people unknowingly
make has always been considering a Power of Attorney as an individual, and not a document, legal
instrument or verbal agreement. Today, I
will play the role of a White Knight and save thy self from further
mortification and warn you of the repeated error a great few of people, whether
lay-men or professional.
A Power of
Attorney is a document containing an authorization for one to act as an Agent of
the Principal
which terminates upon death and/or terms set and agreed to by both Agent and Principal.
For instance, you may own a business, or
due to your schedule or are unable to attend industry functions,
meetings and/or fulfill fiduciary obligations, whether to make decisions, sign
documents or purchases. In this case in
point, you may choose to grant an Agent
or Agency, Power of Attorney. The Agent
and/or Agency will implement the
duties you would perform if you were present, of course, within the boundaries
of the established legally binding terms of the Power of Attorney, if applicable.
Regarding an Agent/Agency, the most common terminology in referring to a person
in said capacity would be Attorney-in-Fact, not to be confused with Attorney-at-Law. As stated above, an Attorney-in-Fact is authorized by Power of Attorney to act on the authorizer's behalf, in this case
the Principal, for all matters
outside a court of law. Attorney-in-Fact
functions under the
terms of the Power of Attorney and
are not restricted, can represent the Principal in any transaction unless otherwise stated and expressed
verbally or in a written agreement known as a Special/Limited Power of Attorney, again the Attorney-in-Fact is limited
to matters outside a court of law. A Special/Limited Power of Attorney is
when an Agent/Agency is acting in a restricted capacity. This document will specify the manner and situation in which an Attorney-in-Fact can represent the Principal.
An
Attorney-at-Law should never be
confused with an Attorney-in-Fact. An
Attorney-at-Law is a person admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction and
sanctioned to fulfill criminal and civil legal functions on behalf of clients. Wherein
an Attorney-in-Fact is not authorized to practice law or provide legal
advice and in many jurisdictions may and will be punished for carrying out such
acts.
In closing,
a Power of Attorney is a valuable instrument for persons with extremely
eventful lives or in ailing health.
Albeit, when used properly can place ease of multi-tasking abilities for
the Principal, but in the same breath can be financial, emotionally and
physically detrimental. For a quick information sessionl, see the video below.
