General Power of Attorney

[stephop]

My aging mother wants to set up a general power of attorney, naming my sister and me as her attorneys-in-fact. I have three quick questions:

1. Can my mother use one of those standard power-of-attorney forms that we can down from one of the online legal sites?

2. Can my sister and I both be named as attorneys-in-fact on the same document, or do we need two separate documents?

3. Is it necessary to have a "gift agent," which I've seen specified on most of these documents? If so, who would typically be named for this, assuming both my sister and I will have power of attorney? My sister and I have no other living immediate family members except our spouses.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[dee_dub]

How do you mean, you are both to be appointed attorneys-in-fact? Co-attorneys, required to act jointly? One will be an alternate? Each to have full power? If so, how are disputes to be resolved?

In answer to your questions :

1. It can be done, but I don't recommend it. POA laws vary between jurisdictions and the forms are not universal.

2. Depends on your answers to the questions above.

3. Again, depends on your jurisdiction. "Gift agent" is an entity unknown to the law of some places. If, as it seems, you and your sister are both to be have POA, it may not be necessary to appoint a gift agent, since POAs often have the power to gift to family members.

I would caution you that it would be worth your mother's while to seek legal advice. If the POA is not done correctly, often it is too late to change it.