Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney is a document that grants permission or rights to an agent to act on behalf of the principal. You can give someone full and complete power of attorney, or you can limit it to only certain things and grant what is called a Limited Power of Attorney. For example, let's say that I have a car for sale and need to leave town. I can give a trusted friend a limited power of attorney to close the deal and sign the documents on my behalf. There is one very important caveat in this: Only give a power of attorney to someone you really trust because if you give them full powers, they can buy and sell real estate in your name, they can obtain credit in your name, they can change beneficiaries on insurance policies, they can cash in IRAs and CDs that you own, and they can make gifts to others of your money, just to name a few. But in the right hands of someone you trust, you have a person in place to help you with your affairs should you fall ill, become incapacitated, have a stroke, fall into a coma, or simply be too sick to act for yourself.