Power of Attorney Forms

Durable Power of Attorney – What is It?
By Allen Jesson

A durable power of attorney is a contract which allows an individual, the principal, to designate another person to act on his behalf. This written instrument authorizes the agent to do different transactions regarding the principal’s businesses and financial matters which are specified in the contract. The agent can also directly communicate and represent the principal with third parties such as stockbrokers, landlords, etc.

A durable power of attorney gives authority to the agent who is validated even after the principal has acquired disability or mental incapacity. On the other hand, in the regular power of attorney, the authority of the agent to represent the principal is terminated under the common law once the principal is found mentally incapacitated. The Durable Power of Attorney Act has been enacted to solve the conflict. The legislature of Texas argued that disability or mental incapacity makes an individual to have a greater need to have an agent to act on his behalf.

An individual makes a power of attorney durable by directly stating that the authority given to the agent survives disability of the principal. Or, it can be stated that the power of attorney will take effect when the principal become incapacitated. Moreover, a principal, who is of legal age, needs to sign the power of attorney before an authorized officer for acknowledgment and to administer the oaths. The durable power of attorney does not lapse as long as the written instrument doesn’t specifically state time limitation and the principal is not likely to revoke it after he has become incapacitated.

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