Legal News: Financial Durable Power of Attorney vs. Health Care Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney is a legal document that allow you to give some one of your choice the power to act on your behalf. With a power of attorney, the person that you appoint will be legally permitted to take care of certain matters for you in the event that you are unable to do so yourself. There are two important documents that you will want to consider .

One is a Financial Durable Power of Attorney and the other is a Health Care Power of Attorney.

A Financial Durable Power of Attorney is a document that is prepared that will allow the person you choose to be able to make financial decisions on your behalf if you are incapacitated. For example, it allows the individual to pay your bill or sell your house in the event that you are unable to do so yourself. This trusted person that you name will be called your "Attorney-in-Fact."

A Health Care Power of Attorney allows you to appoint what is called a "Health Care Proxy" to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. Your Health Care Agent will work with the doctors and nurses to ensure that you receive the medical treatment that you wish to receive. It is important to discuss your wishes with your Health Care Proxy so that they are aware what you would want under certain situations. Each document is for different situations but equally important. It is important that every one has each of these documents in the event that you were to become incapacitated.

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