Powers of Attorney in North Carolina

Power of Attorney is a term you may have heard but may not know exactly what it means. A power of attorney is something that many people often misunderstand. A power of attorney is essentially a document that gives the “power” to someone else to make decisions on your behalf.

A Power of Attorney must include what powers that person has as well as when and how they can use those powers. The person that is giving the powers to someone else is known as the “Principal” and the person that is receiving the powers is known as the “Agent”. This power can be implemented right away or at a later date depending on the circumstances.

Often people are concerned that once someone is named as your agent that they will have full control of any and all decisions made on your behalf, but this is not necessarily true.

The Principal and the Agent both have the authority to act on behalf of the Principal. In other words, if you are still able to make decisions for yourself, you can. The Power of Attorney documents can either be “all inclusive” allowing the Principal to make decisions about everything from health to finances on your behalf, or they can specify if you only want that individual to only make certain decisions for you.

For example, there is the Financial Power of Attorney that deals with things like banking and financial decision making and there is the Health Care Power of Attorney that deals with things like medical care, admissions and other health care related decisions.

They can also differentiate by when they become active. For example, an immediate Power of Attorney allows the Agent to have decision making power right away, but other Power of Attorney documents such as the Financial Power of Attorney, can be specified to give you some control even after you have become incapacitated.

Just like all things in life, we make plans so that when big life changes come our direction (whether they are expected or not) we are ready for them. Making plans about who your designated agents are in on your Power of Attorney documents will give you peace of mind that should the day come that you need someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf, that person has already been decided upon and knows exactly what they are supposed to do. Not only is planning extremely important, but hiring the right attorney to walk you through the detailed differences between these documents can help ensure that you understand which documents you want in place to protect you and your loved ones the most.