Free Durable Power of Attorney Form

A Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is a legal document that allows individuals to appoint a person they trust to take control of their finances in the event they are unable to manage their assets themselves. This can apply in the following situations:

• You become disabled or incapacitated

• You become legally incompetent

• You wish for an agent to take control of your financial affairs now AND if/when you become incapacitated or legally incompetent

Who Are the Key Parties Involved in this Agreement

The Principal: The individual who is seeking to appoint a power of attorney.

The Agent: An Agent, also known as the Attorney in Fact,  takes control of the Principal’s financial affairs. Additional Co-Agents can be appointed by the Principal in a DPOA.

Other Names for a Durable Power of Attorney

• Durable POA

• DPOA

• Enduring Power of Attorney

• Power of Attorney with durable provisions

A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare is an alternative POA document that gives the Agent instructions on how to attend to the Principal’s healthcare needs.

This is different from a regular Durable POA or General Power of Attorney, which only grants powers to manage the financial affairs of the individual appointing an Attorney-in-Fact.

A Durable POA for Healthcare has some similarities to an Advance Directive or Living Will, as it gives details regarding your desires for medical treatment if you are unconscious or incapacitated.

However, the key difference with a DPOA for Healthcare is that it empowers the Agent to make medical decisions for you. It allows the Agent(s) or Attorney-in-Fact to act for you if you are incapacitated due to injury, disability, declining health, advanced age, or mental health reasons. An Advance Directive is strictly limited in scope to:

• Instructions about continuing or withholding life-sustaining treatment if you have a terminal condition (expected to die within six months), or

• Instructions about continuing or withholding life-sustaining treatment if you have an irreversible condition, you cannot care for or make decisions for yourself, and you are expected to die without life-sustaining treatment.

Creating a Durable Power of Attorney for finances can give Agents differentmany different powers related to your financial affairs. These include the handling of: 

• Real estate

• Personal property

• Banking

• Taxes 

• Government benefits 

• Retirement transactions

• Buying and selling stocks and bonds 

There are additionally many other provisions that are permitted within a DPOA form. You can choose which of these will apply when you create and put this kind of legal instrument into effect.

When building a POA document, you can also set limits on what the Agent can and cannot do.

For example, you can limit the actions an appointed Agent can take regarding changes to your will, selling property and personal assets. It can also stipulate the Agent's removal if they breach the agreements of the DPOA or if they can no longer perform their duties.

There are a few considerations that you should keep in mind before appointing a Power of Attorney.

Before starting a Durable POA document, individuals are advised to read and understand the following steps:

Step 1: Find a Person You Trust

The first step to completing a Power of Attorney Document is to find a suitable person to be your Agent or Attorney-in-Fact. This should be an individual that you trust implicitly and can confidently rely upon to make sensible financial decisions on your behalf.

Before formally appointing your Agent, you should talk with them to discuss the contract that you are to enter into and ensure that they agree to perform your duties according to your wishes.

Remember, a Durable Power of Attorney allows your appointed Agent to manage your financial affairs until your death, unless you add specific provisions limiting this in your final document. Therefore, it’s important to choose carefully.

Step 2: Decide the Agent’s Powers

The next stage of creating your document is to have a clear idea of the powers that you wish to bestow upon your chosen Agent.

Consider carefully what financial responsibilities you have as an individual, and how these will affect dependants, business partners, or stakeholders.

In a simple case, you can just appoint your Agent to manage assets like any real estate you own, personal property, or your bank accounts and taxes.

However, if your situation is more complex your POA can include powers to manage stocks and shares, government benefits, or make business or litigation decisions for you.   

Step 3: Complete the Document

When you’ve chosen a suitable Agent and know what duties you will need them to manage for you, you’re ready to fill in the POA document.

To complete the form, you will need to provide key information that will allows the Agent to perform their role effectively. This includes:

• When the POA will come into effect

• The powers being granted to the Agent

• What financial compensation will be made available to the Agent

• Any fiduciary duties the Agent must perform for you

• Special instructions for the Agent

• Limitations to the Agent’s powers

Step 4: Sign the Document

Both you and the Agent must sign your signatures and mark the date on the completed document to bring it into effect.

In some states, this will require the assistance of a notary, and you may need to provide witnesses to the signing.

Step 5: Putting the POA Form into Effect

Once the document has been signed officially, it will normally come into force with immediate effect, unless you have specified otherwise.

Be sure to keep the form in a secure and accessible place, as it will need to be presented to validate the transactions managed by the Agent.

To use the form to sign any legal agreements on your behalf, your appointed Agent will need to add the word “by” to the section where your name is printed and write their name followed by “acting as Attorney-in-Fact”.

The below example shows how a Durable Power of Attorney looks like. This is a generic sample document that cannot be used in all states and in all situations but with LawDistrict’s DPOA contract maker you can easily draw up a printable template that works for you. 

To assist you with family and personal affairs, LawDistrict provides a wide range of documents.

Examine the following forms to legally protect yourself in related situations:

• Power of Attorney

• Power of Attorney Revocation

• Medical Power of Attorney

• Last Will and Testament

• Advance Directive