There is an exception to the rule that a personal representative needs to hire a lawyer. A personal representative who is an attorney admitted to practice in Florida may represent himself or herself as personal representative pursuant to Florida Probate Rule 5.030 (a).
A power of attorney (POA) can be an important element of planning for your elderly parent’s future. It allows another person to take action on your parent’s behalf, ensuring bills get paid and medical decisions can be made in the unfortunate circumstance that your elderly parent is unable to do those things on their own or merely needs help with such tasks.
There are different reasons why someone would wish to get power of attorney, such as:
You cannot delegate your duties to another person. The moral of this story is that when you designate an agent for your power of attorney or designate anyone in a fiduciary role such as a trustee or executor, always consider if the person would be a right fit to carry out the duties you are going to assign to them.
Can you explain the difference in duties required by the person who is the Personal Representative and the person who has the Power of Attorney? 1 The POA receives power to act on behalf of the incapacitated person when the person is determined to be incapacitated under the terms of the power of attorney document. Typically, this is when a determination is made by at least one medical professional that person can no longer care for themselves. 2 The POA is charged with taking care of the incapacitated person’s financial needs, health and welfare needs and other day-to-day to issues. For example, a POA may pay bills, communicate with the doctors and make decisions about the incapacitated person is going to be cared for. 3 Legally, it probably makes no difference whether it is the same person who is POA and PR. However, practically, many times the other spouse is the person chosen to be both the POA and then the PR. A person who has acted as the POA and then acts as the PR has a bit of an advantage because they already have experience with the decedent’s estate.
The primary difference between the Personal Representative (“PR”) and the person appointed under a power of attorney the attorney in fact (the “POA”) is that the PR is administering the estate after the person has passed away and the POA is caring for the person while they are incapacitated, but still living. POA powers terminate upon death.
The POA receives power to act on behalf of the incapacitated person when the person is determined to be incapacitated under the terms of the power of attorney document. Typically, this is when a determination is made by at least one medical professional that person can no longer care for themselves.
Personal Representative. The PR is responsible for securing the Last Will and Testament of the decedent (if there is one) and distributing the decedent’s property according to the terms of the Will. There are usually bills to pay, a tax return to file, personal belongings to gather and other items that need to be addressed.
For example, a POA may pay bills, communicate with the doctors and make decisions about the incapacitated person is going to be cared for. Legally, it probably makes no difference whether it is the same person who is POA and PR. However, practically, many times the other spouse is the person chosen to be both the POA and then the PR.
A personal representative is responsible for settling your estate after you die. An estate is all the property you owned at the time of death, and settling the estate means transferring that property to new owners. The personal representative, sometimes called an executor, gets her power from the probate court.
Powers. An attorney-in-fact has only those powers that the principal decides to grant. These come in myriad forms, but typically include making health care decisions when the principal is not able to do so, or conducting business on the principal's behalf. A personal representative's powers are often similar to someone who receives financial powers ...
If you want to allow someone else to make decisions on your behalf, you can grant power of attorney. A power of attorney is a document where you, the principal, give someone else, the agent or attorney-in-fact, the legal authority to make certain kinds of decisions. You can only create a power of attorney if you are an adult who has the mental capacity to make your own decisions.
A principal can grant power of attorney at any time , and terminate the agent's powers at will. All powers of attorney terminate upon the principal's death, and no agent can continue to act on behalf of the principal once the principal dies.
A Personal Representative: Commonly referred to as an Executor of an estate is an individual (or perhaps an institution) designated to administer the estate of a decedent. As a fiduciary, a Personal Representative must settle and distribute the estate of the decedent as efficiently as possible by adhering to the directions outlined in ...
The primary duty is to protect the estate in a manner consistent with the decedent’s wishes. Although this may appear relatively simple, it is important that the Personal Representative understand the responsibilities associated with the position.
A durable medical power of attorney gives the health care agent broad power and responsibility to make decisions regarding the principal’s medical treatment, including medication, tests, nourishment and hydration, as well as decisions regarding surgery, doctors, hospitals and rehabilitation facilities.
The termination date is the day the agent no longer has the authority to act for the principal and is often used on a power of attorney that is granted for a specific reason only, such as the purchase of a home. An agent's duties vary depending on what types of powers the principal has granted.
The giver of the authority is known as the principal, while the receiver is referred to as an agent. The agent has both a legal duty to the principal and the duties granted by the power of attorney document. Once a principal selects an agent, he/she completes a legal power of attorney document. The document names: The principal,
A Health Care Power of Attorney: is a legal document that allows one person to act for another person if that person becomes incapacitated, perhaps because of a mental illness like dementia, he/she can no longer make health care decisions for himself as he/she once did.
The agent has a legal duty to the principal ; he/she must act in the principal's interests and not his/her own when acting as an agent. Agents should keep records of all duties performed on behalf of the principal in case the principal or a court asks for an accounting of the agent's activities.
A power of attorney is a legal document through which you, as the principal, name someone to have the authority to make decisions and take actions on your behalf. This person is called your agent or attorney-in-fact. Note that the person you name does not have to be an attorney. A durable power of attorney, sometimes called a DPOA for short, ...
A durable power of attorney generally remains in effect until the principal revokes the powers or dies, but can also be terminated if a court finds the document invalid or revokes the agent's authority, or if the principal gets divorced and the spouse was the agent.