It cannot be denied that there are people who are helpless in terms of financial management over their own properties. This situation will expose them to fraudulent people and scammers who will take advantage of their weakness and lead them to possible bankruptcy in the future. However, people need not to worry because there ways in which this can be avoided. One of the most viable options is to make use of the power of attorney in management of their finances. This power of attorney should be applied for and be approved by courts in order to take effect and to assure individuals that their properties are properly managed. The power of attorney is a legal document that allows individuals to exercise their rights using another person who has been authorized by the law and the person himself.

The functioning power of this document may be carried by a single or many persons. However if there are transactions that require the approval of all concerned individuals, a team consensus will be needed. This is the only apparent disadvantage of this document. The contacting procedure in case of persons who are located at distributed loactions can hamper the speed at which one transaction may proceed. As an example, in the sale of a piece of land, there must be signatures provided by all owners of the property in case of joint ownerships. If the authorized person will sell the land, he must first secure the permission of all owners indicated in the land title. This will cause delays in the sale of the property if signatories are located in separated and far places.

The power of attorney can be classified into three:

  • (1) Durable type – This will be in effect even in cases of inability of the owner to perform physical tasks due to injuries sustained through accidents or medical conditions. The main advantage of this type of legal power is that last minute modifications by unscrupulous individuals will not be entertained. If these individuals still push for these unauthorized modifications, then all of the transactions they will enter into will be null and void.
  • (2) Standby Type – This type will take effect only if there are circumstances that lead to the disability of the owner. A power of attorney classified under this type can be applied for in advance in anticipation of possible disabilities due to exposure to high risk environments or work conditions. However, there are some limitations in which this type of legal right can approved. As an example, courts will have to justify of the claims on the risks involved are real and present considerable amounts of danger to the physical being of the person applying for it.
  • (3) Temporary Type – This is will only be applicable in emergency situations. THe convenience of this legal right is that it places individuals as the rightful representatives of the involved person in a manner that will no longer require court orders or complex legal proceedings. This power usually expires as soon as the rightful individual is deemed capable of being able to transact on his own.

In special cases, persons may avail of a special legal right called Power of Medical Attorney. This is given to lawyers as the right to decide on matters when their client is deemed incapable of making sound decisions due to a medical condition. An example is when a person who encounters an accident has no immediate known relatives and there is a need to make decisions regarding his condition. If there are relatives on hand, a guardianship can be availed of instead. This allows close relatives, friends, or trusted entities to make decisions on the behalf of the person concerned.  There are conservatorships, guardianships lawyers which help in special cases.

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