Enhancing eSignature Legitimateness for General Power of Attorney in Canada

How to eSign a document: e-signature legitimateness for General Power of Attorney in Canada

what if you have to make an important decision but might not be available in the right place when the time comes or what if a family member wants you to make decisions about their future medical care in case of an emergency that's what power of attorney agreements are for you might have heard the phrase power of attorney before a person known as a principal gives certain powers to another person known as an agent to act on the principles we have neither the agent nor the principal needs to actually be an attorney for it to be effective but there are a few different kinds of powers of attorney and some things to keep in mind when you create one so let's go over the main types so you know which one you need the first type is a special or limited power of attorney like it says in the name this one is limited it's for a specific purpose and a specific time say you need to sign something on a certain date but you've already made plans to be out of town you can create a limited power of attorney that will empower an agent of your choice to sign on your behalf signing is all the agent can do and the power of attorney expires once that's done but what if you want someone to be able to act on your behalf for a number of different financial matters not all of which you can foresee right now in that case you will want a general power of attorney general power of attorney agreements allow an agent to act on a principal's behalf in a whole range of financial matters they can sell stock manage government benefits like social security handle bank accounts dispose of or acquire real estate and do a lot more with this type of power it's usually a good idea to give a copy of a general power of attorney agreement to the principal's bank and financial institutions and in some states you may have to file it with a county clerk in order to make real estate transactions there's one important limitation in a general power of attorney it expires when the principal becomes incapacitated or incompetent there's a lot of situations though when people want agreements that cover those times for that you would need to turn to a durable power of attorney durable powers of attorney stick around even if the principal becomes incapacitated indeed they are often used for precisely that purpose allowing an agent to oversee someone's financial affairs in case of illness or an accident a durable power of attorney helps the principal avoid a court-appointed guardianship or conservator which can be expensive and challenging to work with durable powers of attorney have become common enough that many but not all states presume that a power of attorney is durable unless stated otherwise a durable power of attorney can go into effect immediately on a set date or when a certain condition is met like the incapacity of the principal that one is called a springing power of attorney and can be helpful to limit an agent's power to just what the principal wants but it's important to be specific about the conditions that might trigger it a durable power of attorney is good for financial matters but if you are concerned about making medical decisions you should then consider a medical or health care power of attorney medical powers of attorney appoint an agent to make decisions about the course of treatment these have become increasingly common as the country's population ages and more people are spending more time in hospitals at the end of their life because healthcare implicates different issues than finances it may be advisable to name a different agent for a medical power of attorney be sure to have an extensive conversation with any potential agent to make sure that he or she understands your priorities and values you may have heard about living wills or an advanced treatment directive like medical powers of attorney these are ways people can try to set the bounds of their health care before they reach a point where they may not be able to make decisions themselves unlike a medical power of attorney there is no agent making choices instead doctors and health care officials interpret what has been written down given how complex medicine can be it's easy to imagine a dispute or disagreement over these directives a problem that can potentially be avoided with a medical power of attorney where he forms the biggest online database of legal documents we have every type of power of attorney for free at the link below with no membership or credit card requirement click the link and get started on yours today