What is power of Attorney and why do you need it? To answer such question, it is necessary to understand the reason, for issuing this legal document on behalf of another person.
What is power of Attorney and why do you need it? To answer such question,
it is necessary to understand the reason, for issuing this legal document on behalf of another person.
When an individual draws up a legal document, designating certain power to another person or company to transact the business on his behalf then, Power of Attorney is drawn to transfer the power. The person designating the Power to another person is known as principal and one, who receives such power, is called an Agent.
This written form is legally valid and binding on both parties. The power transfer may be for specific transaction or more than one business deals. The validity of this legal document also depends on the purpose for which power is transferred. Once the objective of power transfer is achieved then, the person may revoke the document, depriving another person from offered powers.
There are various reasons, which necessitate power transfer. The person may be going out of country for few weeks, there may be numerous legal issues that have to be handled, the person may be overloaded with the work or may have very busy schedule and can not spare enough time to transact business on his own.
Here are some factors you should consider, while authorizing the Agent to represent you to complete prescribed work, business or transaction:
• Competency: The Agent should be well competent and intelligent to transact authorized business or transaction designated to him. He should be well versed with legal issues and financial matters.
• Age: You should consider the age of the individual before transferring the power, as every state has the requirements that, legally a person should be majority age of 18 or 21 years, as per state and federal requirements.
• Time: It is also necessary to find, how much time an Agent could spare to work on your behalf.
• Location: The Agent must be located in approachable distance for frequent interactions.
• Organizational and Management Capability: The Agent should be able to organize and manage all documents, related to transactions or business conducted by him on behalf of the Principal.
• Reliably: The Agent must be an honest and reliable person, who does not misuse designated power for his own benefit or harming the interest of the Principal. Thus, authorizing a well known individual or close relative is best suited to act as an agent.
• Confidentiality: The Agent should be able to maintain privacy and confidentiality of the trade secrets of the Principal.
By appointing an Agent with these qualities, the Principal can devote his busy time to other urgent business or transactions.
If you are also appointing an Agent for your business, financial or legal matters, you can download Power of Attorney Form, from Internet and print it for power transfer.
