Texas Power of Attorney
Every state has it's own laws governing powers of attorney. The person you are granting the power to in a Texas power of attorney is called an agent. Your agent can be anyone you trust to carry out the power you are giving. It is common for some of the powers of attorney to list your spouse as your agent. If you were to ever get a divorce, these powers of attorney are automatically ended. The same is true if the agent can not be located, for this reason you may want to choose an alternative, or back up agent.
The Texas powers of attorney, where your spouse is your agent, are probably the ones your Texas estate planning attorney is going to want to see in your estate plan. These are the durable powers of attorney and they are the only ones that will remain in effect if you were to ever loose your mental capacities. A Texas durable medical power of attorney and a Texas durable financial power of attorney are valuable additions to any estate plan. If an accident were to leave you mentally unable to make decisions your agent has all the legal authority necessary to take complete control over every aspect of your life. You may think your spouse already has these powers, but that is not always the case. These documents are your way of knowing for sure your needs are taken care of by the person you have choose, not a judge or a complete stranger.
While durable powers of attorney remain in effect when you are declared incompetent, the nondurable ones do not. Nondurable, or normal, powers of attorney are the ones we use in our daily business. A car can be sold for you with a Texas vehicle power of attorney, real estate can be sold with a Texas property power of attorney. Any place your signature is needed a special power of attorney can be created allowing another individual to sign for you.
Another type of nondurable power of attorney is the general power of attorney. When you grant powers to your agent with a Texas general power of attorney you are granting a very wide range of powers. Your agent would be able to open your mail, pay your bills, run your business and even sell property for you. This type of document is often left with close friends or family members when you are away for extended periods of time. It is a way for daily needs to be taken care of as well as being prepared for any emergency the might come up.
Texas power of attorney forms are available at Legal Zoom and in most cases do not need a lawyer to fill out. The durable ones are a little different as you will not use them until you are mentally incapable of creating a new one. This means you need to get it right the first time and an attorney could assure you of this.
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