3 Powers of Attorney Everyone Needs

The words “power of attorney” can sound like something from a movie or TV show: the villain tricks an innocent, unsuspecting person into giving away their legal rights… until, of course, the hero steps in at the last moment to save the day.

In reality, powers of attorney are tools that can be for good, not evil – especially these:

Health Care Power of Attorney
A Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to appoint another individual, usually called your agent, to make health care decisions on your behalf.

Unlike a Living Will, which typically only addresses situations involving life-sustaining medical treatment, a Health Care Power of Attorney can cover a broad range of health care decisions and is not limited to instances of terminal illness or permanent coma. It’s a comprehensive and flexible document that allows a person you trust to weigh the facts and legally speak for you according to guidelines you provided. You specify that you want all medication options to be exhausted, set in place a blanket do-not-resuscitate order… or any options in between those two extremes.

HIPAA Power of Attorney
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) controls how health care providers can share your personal health information, protecting your privacy and confidentiality.

Durable Power of Attorney
A Durable of Attorney gives a person, referred to as an agent or “attorney in fact, the legal authority to act on your behalf. Unlike a Health Care Power of Attorney, which covers medical situations, a Durable Power of Attorney allows you to choose who will act on your behalf in a wide variety of financial or business situations.

Durable Powers of Attorney are extremely flexible. You can limit your agent’s authority to a specific situation, like closing on the sale of a home or signing a specific contract, or give them authority over a broad range of situations or circumstances. A Power of Attorney can be temporary or permanent, can take effect only if you are incapacitated or unable to make decisions on your own, and can be revoked at any time.

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Three Powers of Attorney Everyone Needs