Almost every day life brings you things that you need in order for you to enjoy happy and meaningful living. But what if there are some instances that happen and for some reason you lose your ability to think and to make the right decisions for yourself? What will you do?

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Well, if you become incapable to decide for yourself, you probably need a “Power of Attorney.” And what does a power of attorney mean? It is a power of authority under seal, an instrument in legal writing appointing or authorizing one to act as the agent or attorney in fact of the person granting it for some specified limited purpose.

When you make or create and sign a power of attorney you are giving another person the legal capacity to act or do something on your behalf. That person is called your “agent,” or your “attorney in act,” and that person does not have to be a lawyer. The agent can be a member of your family, a close relative, or a friend whom you can trust, who can act with diligence and who has no conflict of interest with everything you want for them to manage for you.

And what are the things that an agent can do on your behalf? These are managing your financial transactions; buying or selling your properties; handling your retirement benefits; filing and paying your taxes; investing your money in banks, stocks and bonds; buying and selling your insurance policies and managing your other personal needs.

A power of attorney may be in the form of a financial and medical authority. A Financial Power of Attorney can be filed to ask the court for authority to manage or handle your financial transactions. And a Medical Power of Attorney can be filed to ask the court for authority to make medical decisions if you are medically incapacitated.

A Financial Power of Attorney form should be filled out by the person granting the authority, signed and filed at your local court clerk’s office. Let it be stamped sealed and keep the original copy safe for future financial transactions. You can also put in writing that unless you become fully incapacitated you can still keep control over the affairs of your transactions.

The last thing to consider is that your financial power of attorney ends its validity when you die. It means that your agent or attorney in fact has no more authority to handle things on your behalf. But if you want your agent to be your executor, you must state it in your last will and testament if you have one.

Now that you have all the information, you will be able to decide if a Financial Power of Attorney is really necessary in your situation.