Susan Mineer Attorney at Law

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a written document in which one person (the principal) appoints another person to act as an agent on his or her behalf, thus conferring authority on the agent to perform certain acts or functions on behalf of the principal.

Durable powers of attorney have become popular because they enable the principal to have her or his financial affairs handled easily and inexpensively after she or he has become incapacitated. Before the durable power of attorney was created, the only way to handle the affairs of an incapacitated person was to appoint a guardian, a process that frequently involves complex and costly court proceedings, as well as the often humiliating determination that the principal is wholly incapable and in need of protection.

A Health Care Power of Attorney is a document that appoints someone else to make decisions regarding your medical care.  If your health declines to the state that you can no longer communicate with others, the person named in your medical power of attorney will communicate for you.  This communication can be to your doctors and other health care providers.  Preparing a Medical Power of Attorney lets you control, at least to some degree, the health care you’ll receive when you’re unable to make decisions directly.  The person named in your medical power of attorney is usually referred to as your agent.