What Can an Agent do with Power of Attorney?

As loved ones age, the capacity to make decisions for themselves diminishes over time. Along with that, they may forget to pay the electric bill or forget that it is their grandson's birthday. This is where a POA or Power of Attorney comes in. A POA is a legal document that allows an agent to perform tasks on behalf of the principal.

Today, we're going to talk about a few roles that the agent can fill and some ideas that you might not have thought of. The hope is that the principal in this situation has a plan laid out for the agent to follow. He or she has documented their wishes and the agent has a road map to follow

What tasks can the agent of a POA do for the principal?

• An agent can pay bills - this can be a heavy burden for an individual who is declining. A POA allows for an agent to write checks to make online payments to utilities, HOA's, property taxes, etc.
• An agent can keep a calendar of important birthdays and send cards and/or gifts to the people that are most important to the principal
• An agent can perform real estate transactions - If their loved one is transitioning from living alone to an assisted living or a skilled nursing facility, the agent can handle the sale of their home.
• Then agent can use the principals assets to purchase Christmas gifts for their loved ones just as they normally would have.
• An agent can take care of household expenses like groceries, taking care of a pet, or lawn care.
• An agent can give monetary gifts as the principal would. Think about wedding gifts, funds to help with college, maybe even a first car for a grandchild.

What can go wrong?

As you can imagine, with this power comes great responsibility! We should note here that the agent has a legal duty to the principal to act in their best interest. This relationship can go south really fast if the agent has selfish motives or is not acting in the principals best interest. Therefore, it's very important to have a trusted agent.

If you need a POA or other estate planning documents, give us a call today.