Utah Power of Attorney
Are you prepared if an accident were to leave you in a comma? Would your spouse, or another family member, need to go to court and ask the judge for the power to handle your affairs? This happens all the time, and it does not need to. Do you know who you would want to handle your affairs if a time came you were unable to? If so, put it in writing. Create a Utah power of attorney so your wishes will be carried out without interference.
Utah power of attorney forms are available at Legal Zoom and are simple enough they can be filled out without the use of an attorney. Before you go for the forms let us explain to you some of the terms you should know about powers of attorney. In Utah, the person you grant the powers to is called your attorney-in-fact. This person can be anyone you trust and does not have to be an attorney. For estate planning purposes this person is usually your spouse.
The forms a Utah estate planning attorney is going to be most concerned about are the durable powers of attorney. These documents remain in effect if you were to ever be declared mentally incompetent. Nondurable powers of attorney are automatically void at that time. A Utah durable medical power of attorney is a way of making sure your spouse, or other family member of your choosing, has immediate authority regarding your health needs. A health care directive can be added to this document giving detailed instructions regarding how you want to be cared for. If there are certain life sustaining measures you would rather not have used on you, this is the place to say it.
The other document your estate plan needs is a Utah durable financial power of attorney. This document gives your attorney-in-fact all the power necessary to take care of any financial matters that need attended to. Your account can be managed, your bills paid and even your taxes filed. You may feel your spouse should already have this power, everything is in both of your names. That may be the case, but what if something was forgot, what if your spouses name was not on a document where it should be or what if the document required both of you signatures? This power of attorney is just an easy way to be sure everything that needs to be dealt with can be.
Normal, nondurable, powers of attorney can be either general or special. A general power of attorney is much like a financial power of attorney. The attorney-in-fact should be able to sign for you wherever your signature is needed. This would be done with your full knowledge, however. You may even be on the phone with the person while it is going on. It is a way of taking care of emergencies and allowing you to be in two places at once.
Special, or limited, powers of attorney grant very specific powers such as allowing another person to sell a vehicle for you. You might at some point need a real estate power of attorney or a power of attorney for children. Again, these are allowing you to be in two places at once, and once you start using them you will find many ways they can help you. You should now be ready to create a Utah power of attorney.
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