Georgia Power of Attorney: What You Need to Know
What Is a Power of Attorney?
A
power of attorney ("POA") is a legal document that allows one party
to make decisions on behalf of another party. The party granting the
authority is the principal and the party receiving the authority is the
agent or attorney-in-fact. An attorney-in-fact can be an officer for
a corporation, an executor or administrator of an estate, a legal guardian or
partner of a partnership.
What Are the 4 Types of Power of Attorney?
Power
of attorneys can be categorized into four main types, each with its unique
purpose:
- General Power of Attorney - A POA
that gives the agent authority to perform almost any act on behalf of the
principal and terminates when the principal becomes incapacitated, revokes
the POA or passes away.
- Limited or Special Power of
Attorney - A POA that gives the agent authority for a limited set of
actions.
- Durable Power of Attorney - A POA
that contains a durable clause and begins when it’s signed but stays in
effect for a lifetime, even after the principal becomes incapacitated,
unless the principal terminates it.
- Springing Durable Power of Attorney
- A POA that only becomes effective when a specific event occurs such as
becoming incapacitated.
What
Is the Most Common Type of POA in Georgia?
In
Georgia, the two most common powers of attorney are a financial power of
attorney and a medical power of attorney. Both are a type of special or
limited power of attorney. You aren’t required to use a lawyer to create your
medical POA. However, you may find it useful to consult with one to make sure
your POA covers all your needs. To ensure you have something in place, our great
state of Georgia has created a FREE standardized form for both financial and
healthcare POAs. For your convenience, you can download a copy of these forms
from our website.
A
new statutory financial POA form went into effect on July 1, 2017. Although the
law states that a Georgia POA created before that date is still valid, and an
out-of-state POA is valid, it is a good idea to create a new POA using the
current form.
Financial Power of Attorney
The agent is given authority to make decisions on the principal's behalf about money or property. For example, you could grant your agent the authority to pay bills, make bank deposits or withdrawals, manage retirement benefits, sell or rent real estate or file your taxes.
The
form can be found in the Official
Code of Georgia, Title 10, Chapter 6B, Section 10-6B-70. The
form lists various types of financial transactions. Detailed explanations of
each power are found in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. You may give your
agent all these by initialing the line before the last item designated
"All preceding subjects."
For your convenience, you can download a copy of this form with instructions from our website.
Healthcare
Power of Attorney
Our
great state of Georgia has also created a Georgia Advance Directive for Health
Care. The principal must sign and date the form in the presence of two
witnesses, who must also sign the form. It does not need to be notarized. This
form may be found in the Official
Code of Georgia, Title 31, Chapter 32, Section 31-32-4.
For your convenience, you can download a copy of this form from our website.
Under
Georgia law, a person is considered incapacitated if he or she is unable to
manage property or business affairs because of (1) an impairment as determined
by a physician or licensed psychologist, (2) being missing, detained,
incarcerated or outside the United States and unable to return as determined by
a lawyer, judge or other government official. Or you can authorize someone to
determine incapacity in your POA.
5 Things You Should Know About Powers of Attorney in Georgia
In Georgia, the power of attorney ("POA") must meet certain basic requirements.
1. It must be signed by the
principal. If the principal is unable to sign, another person
may sign the principal's name at the direction of the principal and in the
presence of the principal. The principal
must be competent enough to understand what they are signing and able to
communicate that they understand what they are signing.
2. It must be signed by
one or more witnesses.
3. It must be signed by a notary public or
other person authorized to administer oaths.
4. The notary may not
be a witness.
5. The principal, anyone signing for the
principal, witnesses and notary must all be present when they sign.
There
is no need to record the POA in the public records. It becomes effective
immediately.
What Type of Power of Attorney Should I Choose?
Not
all POAs are one size fits all. The best type of power of attorney for you
depends on your preferences and the situation you are planning for. If you
suddenly become incapacitated, a durable financial power of attorney and a health
care power of attorney is best. If you want to give an individual complete
control over your finances and healthcare, a general power of attorney is the
best fit. If you want different people to be responsible for your finances and
healthcare, you can create a power of attorney for each one. It is important that
these different agents get along because they may need to work
together. For example, your financial agent may need to use your money to
pay for a medical treatment that your healthcare agent chose for you.
The
best time for putting such documents in place is before you or your loved ones need
them. If an individual becomes incapacitated before they sign powers of attorney,
the only way another individual can attain the proper authority to access their
information and handle their affairs is by filing a Petition for
Guardianship/Conservatorship in the Probate Court where the individual
lives. Guardianship proceedings take 6-8 weeks, involve filing fees with
the probate court. The entire affair is more complicated, more costly—and more
public —when a POA is not already in place. We all recall how that played out
with Britney Spears and Wendy Williams.
What Is The Notary's Role?
For your financial or health care POA to be legally binding in Georgia, it must be notarized. The notary's job is to verify the identity of the principal/signer and ensure that they are signing under their own free will and to witness the signing.
According to the 11th
Edition of the Georgia Notary Handbook, an attorney-in-fact has authority to
sign the principal's name and have that signature notarized without the
principal being present.
The
notary identifies the individual and they should sign as “Jane Doe,
attorney-in-fact for John Doe” or “Jane Doe, POA for John Doe” or “Jane Doe by
John Doe, POA.”
Need a Notary?
Georgia
has not yet fully adopted law for remote online notarizations. A traditional or
mobile notary is just what you need. If you need to have your POA notarized, contact Will Dew, Inc. We would be happy to assist.
We travel to notarize your documents at a time and place convenient for you. If
you need to obtain an Apostille for your POA or need to have it authenticated and legalized by the Consulate/Embassy, we provide
those services too.
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The
contents of this blog are intended to convey general information only and not
to provide legal advice or opinions. The information presented on
this website may not reflect the most current legal developments. No action
should be taken in reliance on the information contained on this website, and
we disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any
or all of the contents of this site to the fullest extent permitted by law. An
attorney should be contacted for advice on specific legal issues and
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