Pennsylvania Power of Attorney

Was your Pennsylvania estate planning attorney surprised to learn you did not have a single power of attorney in your financial documents? Maybe we need to get you up to speed in a hurry. Your estate plan should have a couple of very important forms, a Pennsylvania durable medical power of attorney and a Pennsylvania durable financial power of attorney. The forms are available at Legal Zoom .


A durable power of attorney means that it will stay in effect if at any time you become mentally incapacitated. If you would rather this document was not in effect until the time when you were declared incompetent it could be made a springing durable power of attorney. Either form is acceptable for an estate plan.


In Pennsylvania, the person you appoint powers to is called an agent. An agent can be anyone you trust with a given power. Your spouse is very often your agent, and if at any time you were to get a divorce, these documents become invalid, automatically. You may want to consider voiding these yourself at the time of filing for divorce, to be on the safe side.


Your durable medical power of attorney grants your agent the power to make medical decisions for you, when you are unable to. It is possible to add a health care directive to this document that would describe your exact wishes regarding health care. Your agent and your health care providers would then be bound to follow your instructions.


The financial power of attorney grants your agent the power to handle all of your financial needs. This could include opening mail, paying bills, making bank deposits and even selling property. This is very similar to a general power of attorney, except it stays in effect while you are mentally incompetent. If you use a springing durable power of attorney for your finances you may want to consider adding a general non-durable power of attorney to your estate plan.


There are some other useful powers of attorney you should be familiar with. These are the special non-durable powers of attorney that could be used to sell a vehicle, a piece of property or even give medical authority to a child care provider. Anytime your signature is needed, but you can't be there, a power of attorney might work for you.


Pennsylvania power of attorney forms are simple enough to fill out, this can usually be done without an attorney. Be careful, however, with the durable ones, when you need them is not the time to find out they were done incorrectly. A mentally incompetent person cannot create a power of attorney.


New! Comments

Leave a comment about this article in the box below and share it with your Facebook friends.

What's On Your Mind?

We'd love to hear your comments or opinions. Submit them here and other visitors can read them and comment on them. An e-mail address is not required.



Alabama Power Of Attorney | Alaska Power Of Attorney | Arizona Power Of Attorney | Arkansas Power Of Attorney | California Power Of Attorney | Colorado Power Of Attorney | Connecticut Power Of Attorney | Delaware Power Of Attorney | Florida Power Of Attorney | Georgia Power Of Attorney | Hawaii Power Of Attorney | Idaho Power Of Attorney | Illinois Power Of Attorney | Indiana Power Of Attorney | Iowa Power Of Attorney | Kansas Power Of Attorney | Kentucky Power Of Attorney | Louisiana Power Of Attorney | Maine Power Of Attorney | Maryland Power Of Attorney | Massachusetts Power Of Attorney | Michigan Power Of Attorney | Minnesota Power Of Attorney | Mississippi Power Of Attorney | Missouri Power Of Attorney | Montana Power Of Attorney | Nebraska Power Of Attorney | Nevada Power Of Attorney | New Hampshire Power Of Attorney | New Mexico Power Of Attorney | New Jersey Power Of Attorney | New York Power Of Attorney | North-carolina Power Of Attorney | North-dakota Power Of Attorney | Ohio-power Of Attorney | Oklahoma-power Power Of Attorney | Oregon-power Of Attorney | Rhode-island Power Of Attorney | South-carolina Power Of Attorney | South-dakota Power Of Attorney | Tennessee-power Power Of Attorney | Texas Power Of Attorney | Utah Power Of Attorney | Vermont Power Of Attorney | Virginia Power Of Attorney | Washington Power Of Attorney | West-virginia Power Of Attorney | Wisconsin Power Of Attorney | Wyoming Power Of Attorney | Canada Power Of Attorney | Joint Power Of Attorney | Military Power Of Attorney | Revoking Power Of Attorney |


From Pennsylvania Power Of Attorney to What is a Power of Attorney? | Estate Planning Blog | Basics of Estate Planning | Selecting a Financial Planner | Estate Planning and Taxes | Is This Good Time to Buy a House? | Incorporate My Business | Best Low Cost Investment | Fringe Benefit Plans | Estate Planning and Charitable Giving | Health Insurance Comparisons | Best Medicare Supplement Plan | Medicaid Questions | Retirement and Estate Planning | Current Estate Planning News | Estate Planning Forum | Living will in estate planning | Estate Planning Blogs | Estate Planning Books | Choosing an Estate Planning Attorney | Find a Probate Attorney | Estate Planning Questions |


Home Page

About Us | Contact Us | Site Search | Terms of Use




--by Beth Heikkinen
Marquette, Michigan
I just want to thank you for this site. It answered my questions. I think many people that do research on the net take it for granted and when they find what they are looking for they forget "someone put time, money, etc into providing me with this information."

Thank you!


Like This Site





Visit Our Social Media Pages

Become a Fan of Estate Planning Hub on Facebook Follow EstatePlanningHub on Twitter Follow EstatePlanningHub on Google+ Subscribe EstatePlanningHub Video on YouTube

Get a PDF version of this website and its sister site here.