Financial Power of Attorney

One type of fiduciary role is contained within the Financial Power of Attorney document. Proper preparation of these documents is key in order to allow whoever is named in the document to handle any financial matters that we cannot handle ourselves, whether that be due to illness, incapacity, or even for such reasons as being away due to travel. Whoever we name in the document is our Agent, and our Agent acts in a fiduciary capacity in fulfilling his role. (Please see previous blogpost What is a Fiduciary.)

One important note regarding Financial Power of Attorney documents is that many states have developed uniform provisions that require precise notices and acknowledgements in order to be valid. These states often require the document to be notarized and signed by two witnesses, modified wording to the official Notice on the first page, and revised wording to the Acknowledgement form at the end. Accordingly, if you have not updated an official Power of Attorney document that meets these requirements in the past four years, it would be wise to review your current document to ensure its validity.