Durable Power of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives someone else authority to manage your financial affairs.  You may have already read about them on our Estate Planning page, so why are dedicating an entire page on our website to this document?  Because the failure to have a Durable Power of Attorney or the failure to have one that works well, is one of the biggest mistakes we see.  It is very important for everyone to get this right, particularly someone that may one day need to qualify for public benefits.

You must be competent to sign a durable power of attorney, but it will continue to be effective even if you become incapacitated in the future.  A durable power of attorney is effective immediately upon signing in Florida.  If you are unsure about who to appoint, you should discuss this with your attorney.

When you sign a Durable Power of Attorney, you are known as the Principal (aka: boss), and the person you appoint is known as your Agent.  The authority of an agent named in a Durable Power of Attorney ends at the Principal’s death.

Below we have listed some frequently asked questions about a Durable Power of Attorney.

A Durable Power of Attorney survives your incapacity while a Power of Attorney does not.

Not in Florida. Here in the Sunshine State, a Durable Power of Attorney must be effective immediately so choose your agent wisely.

Assume for purposes of this answer that Bobby Bowden is the Principal and Steve Spurrier is his Agent (Attorney in Fact).

Bobby Bowden by Steve Spurrier, AIF (POA or Agent are also fine in lieu of AIF).