I’m thinking ahead and realize someday I may need to have power of attorney re: my mother.
Where do I get a power of attorney form? Staples? Office Max?
Do I need to see a lawyer? All I know is it must be notarized.
What do I do with the p.o.a. then? file it away at home? carry it with me?
Look for places that sell legal forms. They may also be online; check the website for your state’s Department of State.
You don’t need a lawyer. A notarized copy is sufficient.
Generally, you need to produce the form when it’s needed. A copy is sufficient for most uses. We had them a few years ago to do our daughter’s taxes (she was in the Peace Corps in Namibia); I’d sign my name to the tax form and attach a copy of the P.O.A. Otherwise, they sat in my files.
Some uses will require the original. You can get multiple forms and ask the notary to notarize them all, just so you can keep one in the (probably unlikely) case that they want to keep an original.
thank you!
A lot of government websites (such as Dept. of Health & Human Services or Office on Aging, etc) will have state specific forms. There are also legal form websites that will be able to provide you with the form that has all statute required language for General Durable Power of Attorney (generally for financial matters), Power of Attorney for Health Care and/or Living Will.
The rules vary from state to state. I went through this last summer for my mother. I can tell you for California, you can download the forms from the state government website. You don’t need to use an official form, but there is a list of items that must be included on a form for it to be valid.
Depending on what type of power you will have, there are different forms and different rules on witnessing/notarizing.
Medical decisions: Doesn’t need to be notarized, just witnessed.
Tax forms: No notary or witness needed, just a declaration.
Financial institutions (I needed to write checks for my mother using her checking account): Needs to be notarized.
Again, this is just for California. I believe I got the tax info from the Tax Board site, and the medical and financial institution forms from the Probate Code website.
No lawyer was needed.
The only time I was asked for a form was when I needed to give myself signature authority on her checking account. Since she was lucid up until the end, I never needed to invoke the medical authority.
From a lawyer’s point of view–it is the person giving the power that should either obtain counsel or prepare the power of attorney herself, not the person gaining the power. The reason for this is to prevent overreaching by the person who receives the power.
In my state, a General Power of Attorney must be filed of record if it is to be used to transfer an interest in real property–ie, land. Filing costs $10 if the power is in the proper form, $20 otherwise.
If your mother is in the states, and is age 60 or over, she may be eligible for services from her local Legal Services office. If she is eligible, and they accept the matter, they will meet with her, determine whether she is competent to grant such a power, if so then they would draft the appropriate document according to her wishes, and probably file it for her, providing her with officially stamped copies.
The person receiving such a power is undertaking a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the person granting the power, and could face serious legal consequences for misuse of such a document.