Completing a Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney (POA) is one type of advance directive that allows you to authorize another person to act on your behalf. POA's are not just for people who are sick or old. If something happened to you and you ended up in the hospital, how would your bills get paid, or your other personal business taken care of? This series goes over the Power of Attorney form, including the options allowed and walks through filling out each section
Filling out the Form: Sections 5, 6, and 7 – Durable Power of Attorney Options
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Sections 5, 6, and 7 – Durable power of attorney options
Sections 5, 6, and 7 are very important. Although these are three separate sections, they’re grouped together in the form because they are all related to not just when the POA goes into effect, but also when – or if -- it ends.
You must make a choice in Section 5 about when you want the document to go into effect. Your choices are that it goes into effect either upon your signature, or not until you become incapacitated.
If you mark the top box that states the power of attorney takes effect upon signature, you also need to answer Section 6. If you choose to have the POA take effect upon your incapacity, you have also already answered the question in Section 6 and so do not need to complete that section.
In Section 6, your choice is whether or not the document is affected by any subsequent incapacity. If you want your POA to be durable – that is, it remains in effect if you become incapacitated, you would check the top box. If you want your POA to be revoked if you become incapacitated, you would check the second box.
Section 7 allows you to place a specific time limit on your agent’s power. This section is optional, but you if you’ve chosen to make your POA effective upon signature and you want it to expire at some point before you become incapacitated, you need to complete this section. If you do not complete Section 7, your POA will be in effect according to what you’ve chosen in Section 5 and/or 6.
