How to Get or Obtain Power of Attorney in AZ
Full Answer
Part 1 of 2: Becoming Attorney-in-Fact
Your financial agent might be able to make the following decisions for you:
Under Arizona law, a durable power of attorney MUST contain language expressing that it can be exercised if you (aka the principal) become incapacitated and no matter how much time passes from the time you create the power of attorney. Without that language, the power of attorney will not be effective after you become incapacitated, which would defeat the entire purpose for having it. It is possible to draft a durable power of attorney to allow it to become effective prior to your incapacity ...
Also, powers of attorney can be very broad or very limited in scope, so people can give their agent as little or as much authority as they wish. In order to be valid, however, people must adhere to the following guidelines when creating a power of attorney: 1 The principal must understand the nature and effect of signing a power of attorney. 2 The principal must sign the power of attorney willingly. 3 The principal must initial any paragraph in the power of attorney that benefits the agent. 4 A notary and witness other than the agent, the agent’s spouse, or the agent’s children must sign the power of attorney. 5 A power of attorney can be revoked or changed for as long as the principal remains competent. 6 The financial power of attorney form itself must meet certain criteria.
A notary and witness other than the agent, the agent’s spouse, or the agent’s children must sign the power of attorney.
Valid health care and mental health care powers of attorney must: Clearly declare the principal’s intent to delegate authority to make health care decisions to a specific person; Be signed by a principal who is of sound mind and free from duress;
With a health care power of attorney, people designate an agent to make their medical decisions in the event of an emergency. Health care powers of attorney assure principals that their important health care decisions rest with somebody whom they trust should they become incapacitated.
The principal must understand the nature and effect of signing a power of attorney. The principal must sign the power of attorney willingly. The principal must initial any paragraph in the power of attorney that benefits the agent.
Call Arizona Estate Attorney Dave Weed at (480) 467-4325 to discuss your case today.
The mental health care power of attorney can appoint the same agent as under the health care power of attorney or somebody else. Also, it can be created at the same time as the health care power of attorney, or at a later date. Valid health care and mental health care powers of attorney must:
A power of attorney is a legal document you can create/sign to give another person (known as the agent) the ability to make financial and medical decisions on your behalf.
But what EXACTLY does a POA do? Simply put, a POA gives someone to do just about anything you could do yourself, such as open bank accounts, transfer money, pay bills, hire professionals for help, deal with lawsuits, refuse medical care, change doctors, and more.
If you become incapacitated and you don’t have a POA in place, chances are your spouse will need to go to court and be appointed as your guardian and conservator. This will cost at least hundreds of dollars in court fees, as well as time dealing with several court documents when there are more important things to worry about (You!).
Also, if only witnessed by one person, that person cannot be someone who will receive anything from you via a testamentary document (such as a Will). Although a health care POA only needs to be witnessed by one person or notarized, best practice would be to have it witnessed and notarized. Compare A.R.S. 14-5501 .
In contrast, a durable power of attorney wouldn’t take effect right away. Rather, it only becomes effective once you become incapacitated. Importantly, (and where the name comes from), the power of attorney is NOT affected by your disability or incapacity. Under Arizona law, a durable power of attorney MUST contain language expressing ...
Without that language, the power of attorney will not be effective after you become incapacitated, ...
This requirement is intended to protect people from being coerced into signing a POA. Finally, the POA needs to be signed before a notary and contain the notary’s seal . For a health care POA, the witness also cannot be a health care provider involved in your care.
A POA is a legal document that gives a person (or organization) permission to make certain decisions if you are unable to do so. If you’re in need of a power of attorney in Arizona, but have limits to your budget, it’s important to get this taken care of affordably.
There are many types of POAs and reasons for creating them, but the below examples will get you started thinking about which type you may require.
When choosing an agent for your POA, trust is of paramount importance. Choose someone you are certain will respect your wishes (and understands them), won’t take advantage of their new power, and has your best interests at heart.
POA documents can be prepared by a lawyer, a legal document preparation service, or yourself.
Educate yourself on the different types of POAs that are available, decide on an agent that deserves your trust, and get some help putting it all together. Don’t make the mistake of struggling to do all this yourself when affordable help is a readily available option.
If you haven’t established a power of attorney for yourself, than there are a few things that the Arizona Medical Board will do next to see if they can help determine what your wishes were. If in the event something does happen to you, it’s wise not wait until something does for the AZ Medical Board to help in making these health decisions for you. Throughout this search here is a list of people they will seek out on behalf of the person that is too ill to make decisions on their own. However, if no one was with you, and they are having troubles finding any of these people below, than there has been much time that has been exhausted when they could have gotten those answers much more efficiently. The question is, will the person that they find truly know your wishes if you are too ill or incapacitated?
What does power of attorney mean? When you appoint a Power of Attorney this person is acting on behalf of you if you cannot. With that being said, when you do appoint your Power of Attorney, be sure they know your intentions, wishes or anything else that you need them to know.
When you appoint a Power of Attorney for yourself, you may be taking a risk that could lead to a loss of assets or worse. In the end this decision is up to you, but because this is considered a “big decision” it should be thought as one.
However, if you pass away a Power of Attorney loses all power making decisions for you specific to your assets, etc.
Revocation of Power of Attorney– You’ve passed out your power of attorney paperwork several years ago and your wishes have changed. This is where you will need to draft a revocation of power of attorney. Basically, what this means is that you are cancelling or revoking any existing power of attorney that you currently have. If there have been changes to your wishes, or power of attorney its always wise to make it official and for very obvious reasons that we probably do not need to go into.
A Parental Power of Attorney typically begins on a date and ends no more than six months later from the initial date. This is a temporary power of attorney that gives authority over your children in a specific situation and obviously with that, the person that you’ve chosen is willing to accept this responsibility.
The signature on the Durable Health Care Power of Attorney doesn’t need to be notarized, but will need to be witnessed by a person who is 18 years or older, but cannot be a blood relative.
Once you have the power of attorney in hand, you’ll need to get a copy to the right organizations so that they will recognize your authority as the attorney-in-fact. Pay special attention to the following: 1 Banks 2 Credit card companies 3 Retirement account custodian 4 Brokerage account custodians 5 Life insurance companies 6 Trusts 7 Health insurance provider 8 Healthcare professionals, including physicians, hospitals, and care facilities
Call Arizona Estate Attorney Dave Weed at (480)467-4325 to discuss your case today.
An experienced attorney can explain everything to your parent to put their mind at ease, and they can customize the legal document to include clauses that address your specific concerns. For example, they can draft a power of attorney that grants authorization to all of your parent’s assets, but refrains from granting you permission ...
For a durable power of attorney to be valid, the principal (your parent) needs to be of sound mind, and cannot be subject to duress or undue influence. A witness will need to sign the document to attest that at the time of signing, the principal meets these criteria. It’s a good idea to choose a disinterested witness who would not benefit from the power of attorney being granted, in case anyone contests the power of attorney down the road. In the state of Arizona, you’ll also need to have the document notarized.
Nobody likes to have their freedom taken away, and to many people, a power of attorney implies just that. Fortunately, that’s a misunderstanding that can be addressed. Explain to your parent that a power of attorney grants you permission to act on their behalf, but it does not take away their ability to handle their own affairs. It’s like adding an authorized user to their checking account or credit card—there are now two people who can access their accounts, pay their bills, access their medical records, and speak with their doctors. A power of attorney is meant to make things easier for them, not to take away their free will.
Many institutions will require the power of attorney be submitted with one or more forms that will likely require the principal’s signature, so you’ll want to take care of this while the principal still possesses the capacity to do so.
The preferable method is for your parent to voluntarily give you authorization with a durable power of attorney —a legally binding document that tells the court that your parent would like to appoint you as their agent by their own free will. As long as your parent is of a sound mind and is not subject to duress or undue influence, ...