New Jersey Power of Attorney
The person you grant powers to on your New Jersey power of attorney document is called the attorney-in-fact. Your attorney-in-fact does not have to be an attorney, and usually is not, it can be anyone you choose to trust with a certain power, or authority. There are some New Jersey powers of attorney that belong in your estate plan and many others that you could use in the course of running a business or even your daily personal life. Sometimes these simple documents can be real time savers, allowing you to be in two places at once.
New Jersey power of attorney forms can be found at Legal Zoom, and in most cases, are easy to fill out without the help of an attorney. Durable powers of attorney might be an exception, the specialized knowledge of a New Jersey estate planning attorney could be used just to make sure the document is going to do everything you want it to. A durable power of attorney is for allowing others to take care of you and your finances if you are mentally incapable. There are many reasons for being extremely careful with these documents.
Non-durable New Jersey powers of attorney can be written to take care of just about any need you may have. These are special, or limited powers of attorney and grant your attorney-in-fact a very specific, limited power. A vehicle power of attorney allows another individual to sell a vehicle, sign the title, for you in your absence. A real estate deed can be transferred while you are many miles away tending to other business, just use a real estate power of attorney and have someone sign for you. Anyone that cares for children on a regular basis could use a power of attorney for children to handle any medical emergencies that might arise as well as easy tasks such as registering the child in school. As you can see, granting legal powers to another individual can be useful at times.
Another type of non-durable power of attorney is the general power. The general power of attorney grants your attorney-in-fact a broad range of powers and should be used very carefully. If you are planning a trip overseas, and have someone at home you can trust, this would take care of any emergency that might arise. This type of power of attorney is also used in an estate plan. If you name your spouse as the attorney-in-fact and file it away, you never know when it might come in handy. A spouse is not always able to sign documents for you, depending on how they were written. Anytime you have a power of attorney with your spouse as your attorney-in-fact, and you get divorced, change them quickly. Many states will automatically void a power of attorney in this situation but New Jersey does not.
Any discussion about powers of attorney is not complete without mentioning the "springing" clause. A couple of these belong in your estate plan and remain inactive as long as you are healthy and mentally capable of making decisions for yourself. If an accident were to leave you mentally incapacitated they "spring" to life and immediately grant powers. A New Jersey springing durable medical power of attorney grants the power to oversee, and make decisions concerning, you health care. A New Jersey springing durable financial power of attorney allows your attorney-in-fact to jump in and take care of all of your finances, while you are unable to.
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