A power of attorney is a powerful legal document that allows the holder to make crucial decisions on someone else’s behalf. The person who gives or authorizes the power of attorney is usually called the “principal” and sometimes, the “grantor”.
The person who receives the power of attorney, or to whom the power is given, is usually called the “agent” or “attorney in fact.”
A power of attorney remains effective until it is canceled, revoked, expires, or the principal or agent dies. The power of attorney isn’t the same as guardianship and can be rendered ineffective if a guardian is appointed for the principal.
As a legal document, the power of attorney gives someone (the agent) the power to act on another person’s behalf (the principal). This document does not give the agent power over the principal, the agent only receives power to act on behalf of the principal.
Yet, it would not be wise to underestimate the force of a power of attorney, and a person must be careful and conduct due diligence before trusting someone with a power of attorney.
A power of attorney need not necessarily be vague or ambiguous. Oklahoma law recognizes several different forms of power of attorney. These can be useful for specific aspects, or as necessary.
Broadly speaking, there can be a general power of attorney, medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, and Oklahoma durable power of attorney. Other forms of POA (power of attorney) can also include real estate power of attorney or tax power of attorney.
There are several situations where you might want to hand a power of attorney to a professional. These can include giving the POA to a lawyer for legal representation, or a tax POA to a CPA or a similar agent so they can talk to tax agencies on your behalf.
There might also be situations where you might want to give POA to a family member or to caregivers.
Additionally, some POA forms might require the presence of witnesses and/or a notary public. Others might only have limited formalities. Whatever the case, it’s useful to be careful and only give the POA to someone you can really trust.