The answer is not only “yes” but that it is advisable to have more than one agent named. Having multiple persons named as agent allows for “back-up” if something happens to one agent. Redundancy is never a bad thing in estate planning.
Full Answer
A principal can select one person to be their power of attorney agent and the other one to be that agent’s successor. Having a successor agent provides security in case the POA agent dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated.
Considering the many responsibilities involved in this task, you may desire to appoint multiple agents to your durable power of attorney so these agents can share duties. If you decide to appoint two agents, be sure to include provisions in your document that allows each agent to act independently.
The authority of a power of attorney is in effect as long as the person who granted the authority is alive. Can More Than One Person Have the Power of Attorney? The short answer is yes.
Can More Than One Person Have the Power of Attorney? The short answer is yes. You can have two, three, or ten people as your agents if that’s what you want. The real question is—should you? The more agents you have, the more reasons for feuds and disputes.
A successor agent is the person named to serve as a backup agent if the first person named as agent cannot serve due to death, incapacity, resignation or refusal to act. If a named individual is unable or unwilling to serve as agent, the next person in line under the document becomes the agent.
General power of attorney With a general power of attorney, you authorize your agent to act for you in all situations allowed by local law. This includes legal, financial, health, and business matters. General POAs can be durable or non-durable, depending on your preferences.
You may select more than one person to act as your agent and you may name a successor agent if your original agent is unable or unwilling to continue to act as your agent.
A statutory or durable power of attorney gives an agent permission to access bank accounts, sell property and make other important decisions when the principal becomes incapacitated or unable to make decisions. It stays in effect until revoked or until the principal dies.
Generally speaking, while it is good to include your spouse or siblings, consider the fact that they may not be around or have the inclination to sort out your wishes when the time comes. If possible, include two attorneys as standard and a third as a back-up should one of the attorneys not be able to act.
You cannot give an attorney the power to: act in a way or make a decision that you cannot normally do yourself – for example, anything outside the law. consent to a deprivation of liberty being imposed on you, without a court order.
There is no limit to the number of people you can name as an attorney when making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). You can also name replacement attorneys who can step in if one of the original attorneys becomes unable or unwilling to act.
Yes, you can name more than one person on your durable power of attorney, but our law firm generally advise against it under most circumstances. First, there is no legal reason why you cannot name more than one person as your power of attorney - you can name 10 people if you want.
It's not possible to add an Attorney to a Lasting Power of Attorney once it's been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. You are also unable to completely change the list of named Attorneys, for example by removing some and adding others.
Where Do I File a Power of Attorney in Texas? Most powers of attorney do not need to be filed with a court. However, suppose a power of attorney is used for a real estate transaction that generally must be recorded. In that case, the power of attorney must also be filed with the county clerk.
The durable power of attorney does not need to be signed by any witnesses. It is not necessary to file the durable power of attorney unless the agent uses it with respect to a real property transaction.
Yes. This is a special power of attorney that only allows your agent to sign a deed for the property. This kind of power of attorney must include a legal description of the property that you want to sell. You must record the power of attorney in the deed records of the county where the property is located.
A power of attorney is a substantial legal document that allows you—as a principal—to appoint an agent (attorney-in-fact) to make certain decisions on your behalf. Whether it’s out of convenience or mental or physical illness, an agent has a responsibility to handle your medical, financial, or personal matters.
You can have two, three, or ten people as your agents if that’s what you want. The real question is—should you? The more agents you have, the more reasons for feuds and disputes. This could lead to severed relationships between the agents and conflicts when making important decisions.
The attorney-in-fact is expected to put your interests before their own and act in good faith and according to your expectations. The given powers, duration of the agreement, and other specifics of a power of attorney depend on your preferences and the POA type.
Joint Agents vs. Co-Agents. You can choose two or more agents to act together on your behalf. They can act jointly or independently. Joint agents have to agree on everything and make decisions together to act in the principal’s best interest.
Not every POA with multiple agents is the same because the relationships between the agents aren’t. Here are the most common multiple-agents relationships, based on their roles in the POA: Agent and successor agent. Joint agents vs. co-agents.
One agent can always act on your behalf if the other one is out of town. Agents can divide the responsibility in the selling process. Agents can split duties. Possibility of disputes is always present. It can trigger fraud concerns with third parties (banks or credit card companies) It can cause logistical problems.
Yes. It is common for two siblings to have shared power of attorney. Parents usually do this to be fair to all of their children and avoid conflicts between them, which can sometimes backfire. You should consider the relationship between the siblings before deciding whether to make one or all of them agents.
A replacement agent will take over the original agent’s responsibilities if the original agent is no longer able or willing to serve.
One way to lessen problems with co-agents is to allow each of them to act independently. However, this decision should not be made lightly. Created properly and with care, powers of attorneys can be useful and cost-effective planning tools.
Co-Agents. Co-agents under a power of attorney have equal responsibilities. While this might seem like a good idea, it is usually not. The practical necessity of having each agent coordinate and come to an agreement on each decision they make means that appointing co-agents could backfire on you.
A lot of estate plans include different types of powers of attorney. While these documents are very useful, there are some practical limitations you should know about before you make a decision about the agent you choose through your power of attorney.
It’s ok to choose more than one agent when you create multiple powers of attorney as long as you realize that each agent should have a particular responsibility. For example, if you create healthcare and financial powers of attorney, naming a different agent under each is fine. In fact, it’s probably a good idea in some situations because different people may be better at, for example, making financial decisions than others.
Although everyone over the age of eighteen should have a durable power of attorney, having someone you trust to act on your behalf is paramount.
A durable power of attorney is one of the most important estate planning documents and can save your family (and you) from problems and expenses if you become unable to handle your own affairs as a result of illness or accident.
It is also important that there be communication and trust among the agent (s) and other family members. Lack of communication with other family members may lead to suspicions and accusations of misconduct, even if there isn’t any. Sometimes clients are concerned that if they name one child on a power of attorney it may look like favoritism ...
So they may ask about naming more than one child as agent. This can solve some of the communication issues since all agents will have access to financial accounts and information. It’s also less likely that the appointed agent will abuse her power if she knows there’s oversight from others.
Unless the client has real concerns about his agents acting without consulting one another, we typically recommend that the agents be permitted to act separately which allows for more flexibility. It will be much more efficient if either agent can write checks, deal with financial institutions and sign contracts.
This document allows a person to designate another person or persons to act on their behalf in connection with personal, business and financial matters. A DPOA is critical in the event a person has a health crisis or becomes severely injured ...
A DPOA is critical in the event a person has a health crisis or becomes severely injured or incapacitated. Elderly persons particularly benefit by having a DPOA because their designated person, i.e. their agent, can act for them on matters that they can no longer do themselves.
The answer is not only “yes” but that it is advisable to have more than one agent named. Having multiple persons named as agent allows for “back-up” if something happens to one agent. Redundancy is never a bad thing in estate planning.
Naming multiple agents can be done either in consecutive order, such as naming a primary and then a secondary, or it can be done where “co-agents” are named. Here’s some examples of the two alternatives: Example 1: Consecutive Agents.
The successor co-agents will provide a copy of the death certificate evidencing why your uncle is no longer serving. Some entities may require a certification of the POA document simply meaning that the document is still in effect and that the two daughters are serving as co-agent (they will both sign). ...
If wife still has capacity, a new POA would be best. If she lacks capacity, then the daughters need to prepare and sign a declaration that dad (the original agent) has died and attach it to the POA. May need to include a photocopy of the certified death certificate. Be sure to redact the SSN on the death certificate...
What changes "by state"? A successor agent acts as the agent without anything else, --assuming the type of POA is a simple one. But it would make more sense of surviving spouse to make new documents,
Mom’s husband died. Trying to support without compromising boundaries. How do I support her without losing my own life in the process?
What do you do when elderly parent refuses needed care or legal considerations?