West Virginia Power of Attorney
A West Virginia power of attorney is a way of granting powers, or authorities, to another person of your choosing. The person you grant powers to is called an attorney-in-fact. This person can be your spouse, friend of sister, anyone you trust enough to carry out the power given to them. If you have a power of attorney with your spouse listed as the attorney-in-fact, and you get divorced, but sure to make a new document. Some states automatically void powers of attorney in this situation but not West Virginia, you need to do it yourself.
If you are currently working with a West Virginia estate planning attorney you probably already know about durable powers of attorney. These documents are effective immediately and remain effective if you ever loose your mental capacity. Nondurable powers of attorney are automatically void at this time.
There are two important durable documents that belong in your estate plan. The first is a West Virginia durable medical power of attorney and the other is a West Virginia durable financial power of attorney.
These power of attorney documents allow your attorney-in-fact, the person you have chosen to make decisions for you, to take care of all medical and financial matters while you are unable to. If for some reason you do not want these powers of attorney to become immediately effective they can be written as springing powers of attorney and will not go into effect unless you are declared mentally incompetent by a doctor.
Nondurable powers of attorney are used in a number of different ways. A general power of attorney grants a wide range of powers and should only be given to someone you trust completely. Special powers of attorney, on the other hand, are very limited in the power they grant. You could have your neighbor sell your care for you with a West Virginia motor vehicle power of attorney. Your neighbor could sign the car title but he could not sell your house or drain your bank account. Some other examples of special powers of attorney are the travel power of attorney, the power of attorney for children and the property power of attorney.
It is a good practice to use the proper West Virginia power of attorney forms as apposed to any generic ones. You will find these forms at Legal Zoom, and in most cases, would not need a lawyer to fill out. Keep in mind that in order to create a legal power of attorney you must be of sound mind. Once you have been declared mentally unfit you can no longer change your powers of attorney or create new ones. The ones that get tucked away in your estate plan need to be done correctly, the first time.
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