法律英语：61 Power of Attorney

by Michael W. Flynn

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topic is the power of attorney. Listeners have written in with several questions regarding what power of attorney means, to whom you can give power of attorney, and how power of attorney and living wills intersect. Today I will discuss the basics of power of attorney, and I’ll tackle living wills next week.

A power of attorney is simply a document giving one or more persons the power to act on your behalf. You, as the person who signs the power of attorney, are called the principal. The power of attorney gives legal authority to another person, called an agent or attorney-in-fact, to make property, financial and other legal decisions on your behalf. The agent does not have to be an attorney at law; your agent can be any competent adult. Your agent generally owes you a duty to act solely³ for your benefit, and avoid self-dealing.

In many states, a power of attorney can be oral, while other states require a power of attorney to be in writing. Some states, such as New York, even require that a power of attorney be signed before a notary⁴ public. For those states that allow oral power of attorney, that power is typically limited by the equal dignity rule. That rule is a principle of law that requires an authorization⁵ for someone performing certain acts for another person to have been established with the same formality as required for the act the representative is going to perform. This means, for example, that if you authorize⁶ someone to sell your house, and the law requires a contract for the sale of real property to be in writing, then the authorization for the other person to sign the sales contract and deed must be in writing too.

There are several kinds of power of attorney. The broadest is the durable⁷ power of attorney, which enables your agent to act for you until you die, even if you are rendered mentally incompetent⁸ or physically⁹ unable to make decisions. A durable power of attorney typically allows your agent to make any legal decision for you. That power exists once you and your agent execute the agreement. A durable power of attorney remains¹⁰ in effect until you revoke¹¹ it or until you die.

A nondurable, or special power of attorney, grants the agent power for a specified¹² purpose or for a specified period of time. This is often used for a specific transaction, like the closing on the sale of your house, or the handling of your financial affairs while you are traveling outside of the country. In many states, a nondurable power of attorney will often lose force if you become incapacitated.

Last, a springing power of attorney becomes effective at a future time. It springs up upon the happening of a specific event, such as illness or disability.

There are two main advantages to having a power of attorney. First, a power of attorney can be very convenient. For example, imagine you are moving to Chicago, but do not have the time to apartment hunt. You could ask a friend who lives there to look for you, and give power of attorney for the sole purpose of signing a lease. Spouses¹³ often grant power of attorney to each other to sign each other’s checks or property deeds so that only one needs to be present to sign important documents.

Second, medical planning. While not pleasant to think about, it is possible that you will become incapacitated due to injury or illness. If you do, a power of attorney might be very important. We will discuss this more next week.

But, as with any agency relationship, the potential for abuse is omnipresent. If you grant power of attorney, then that person might do serious financial damage. Your agent with the power to sign your checks might sign away your life savings¹⁴ and then flee the country. Your agent has no duty to provide any accounting¹⁵ unless you expressly mandate¹⁶ that he do so in the power-of-attorney document. Be very careful when you choose your agent.

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful¹⁷ Life. Be sure to check out all the excellent Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts at QuickAndDirtyTips.com.

You can send questions and comments to............or call them in to the voice-mail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

Legal Lad's theme music is "No Good Layabout" by Kevin MacLeod.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

4 notary   

n.公证人，公证员

参考例句：

• She is the town clerk and a certified public accountant and notary public.她身兼城镇文书、执业会计师和公证人数职。
• That notary is authorised to perform the certain legal functions.公证人被授权执行某些法律职能。

5 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

6 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

7 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

8 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

12 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。

13 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

14 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

15 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

17 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。