A general power of attorney is necessary for granting authority to a person to conduct a broad range of transactions on your behalf. Essentially, this document lets the agent perform nearly any task you would normally do.

Two people are involved with general power of attorney. You will be referred to as the Principal. The person you authorize to perform duties is known as the Agent or Attorney-in-Fact.

Considering agents have such broad powers it is vital to carefully think about who will be selected. For obvious reasons the person should be someone you can trust and count on to carry out tasks with integrity.

Just because a person is designated as the agent doesn\’t mean they have to accept the position. However, once they perform a task they are required by law to act as your fiduciary and protect assets and finances as if they were their own.

Agents can be anyone you choose. Most people appoint family members, friends, and business partners, but could also select lawyers or estate planners. By law, agents must be of legal age and should not have any hindrances that would prohibit them from carrying out duties.

Being an agent for another person can be a daunting task. It\’s a good idea to have a conversation with the person you are considering before writing their name in the document.

Putting together a general power of attorney offers benefits to nearly everyone. If events occur that prevent the Principal from being able to take care of personal or business transactions their agent can take over and prevent bigger problems from taking place.

With this kind of POA, agents are authorized to perform a myriad of tasks. These include: managing personal finances such as paying bills and transferring money into or out of bank accounts; engaging in real estate transactions; making financial investments; and buying or selling business assets.

If agents are authorized to manage real estate they perform any kind of transaction the Principal could do. An example could be when the Principal owns investment property used as a rental home. Agents could collect rent; evict tenants for delinquent rent; or enter into leasing contracts with new tenants.

Anyone who owns a business should consider arranging a general power of attorney and designate an agent to perform management duties. Agents can be given full power to handle every facet of business operations, or permitted to participate in certain tasks.

Business owners that don\’t want to grant broad POA privileges can arrange other types of power of attorney forms. An example would be if the Principal wants their agent to sell business equipment while they are away on an extended trip. They would arrange a limited power of attorney which limits their privileges to the specific task. Once the task is completed POA rights are revoked.

Most people hire a lawyer to execute their general power of attorney, but these forms can be created on your own. Several online stores sell preformatted forms for a nominal fee and they are also sold in office supply stores. Furthermore, people can utilize online legal service providers like Nolo and LegalZoom.

Uncertain if a general power of attorney is what you need? Probate expert Simon Volkov shares an exhaustive personal finance library offering detailed information about each type of power of attorney and its uses. Find out how they can help you by visiting www.SimonVolkov.com.

Uncertain if a general power of attorney form is what you need? Probate expert Simon Volkov shares an exhaustive personal finance library offering detailed information about each type of power of attorney and its uses. Find out how they can help you by visiting http://www.SimonVolkov.com.

Author Bio: Uncertain if a general power of attorney is what you need? Probate expert Simon Volkov shares an exhaustive personal finance library offering detailed information about each type of power of attorney and its uses. Find out how they can help you by visiting www.SimonVolkov.com.

Category: Finances
Keywords: general power of attorney, power of attorney form, limited power of attorney, investment property