Answers to Frequently Asked Power of Attorney Questions
If by ‘represent’ you mean in court or in a lawsuit, the answer is no.
A non-lawyer cannot represent a separate legal entity (in this case, a Trust) in any legal proceeding.
And an executed Power of Attorney document would have no bearing on this restriction.
A Power of Attorney authorizes the person named as “Attorney-in-Fact” to act on or do certain things behalf of the principal (who is the person signing the POA), per the specific terms of the document.
The POA does not, however, permit the Attorney in Fact to make any and every decision on behalf of the principal.
While a Durable Power of Attorney vests the person named attorney-in-fact with very broad powers and authority, revoking or modifying a Trust may be outside the scope of such document.
No, you cannot represent another person in court simply by being granted Power of Attorney. Only attorneys who are licensed to practice law can represent the interests of another person in a court proceeding. The Power of Attorney will not vest you with the proper authority to represent another person in court.
Standard Legal is unaware of any state restrictions on the residency of the person named as the “attorney in fact” on a Power of Attorney document.
However, the ability of a foreign-based ‘attorney in fact’ to carry out the wishes of the Grantor could be an issue for any transaction involving the attorney-in-fact and any USA bank, financial institution, local/state/federal government, courts, etc.
A Last Will & Testament becomes effective only upon the death of the person making that Will. A person who has made a Will has the right to change it anytime prior to his or her death, assuming that the person has sufficient mental capacity to make a new Will.
As such, a Will cannot be “opened” or administered prior to a person\’s death in order to determine whether that person\’s wishes are being respected.
If the Power of Attorney document is written so as to require the “attorney-in-fact” to disgorge or turn over any and all documents or financial accounting records he or she may have after the dissolution of a POA, then an obligation to act typically will exist.
But if that language is missing from the document, then the answer is not as black and white.
A Power of Attorney (POA) document would most likely not provide any help in a temporary child care situation for grandparents; children cannot grant another person any rights through a POA since they are minors, and POAs cannot be created that assign rights for a third party (i.e., a mother cannot create a POA that assigns rights on behalf of her children).
The laws of each state may effect who is appointed with Power of Attorney.
Generally, spouses make decisions for an incapacitated adult.
If one is not married, state law may permit the children of that person to make medical decisions, assuming that all of the children agree on the care to be provided.
While a misspelled middle name would not automatically invalidate the document, Standard Legal strongly suggests that the document be corrected so that no issues might arise in the future.