What’s the Difference Between A Power of Attorney and a Durable Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that grants authority to someone you choose to take action on your behalf.

POAs can be used for a variety of purposes but they’re most commonly used when you need your attorney to negotiate or enter into contracts on your behalf.

What makes a POA “durable” is that you intend for the authority to continue, even if you become incapacitated. The authority granted under a general POA is automatically revoked if you become mentally incapacitated or otherwise unable to speak on your own behalf. A Durable POA on the other hand, is intended specifically to grant authority for someone to act as your agent while you’re incapacitated.

There are two basic types of authority you might want to grant with a Durable POA: the ability to take care of your financial affairs and the ability to speak on your behalf regarding medical treatments.

A Durable POA for financial matters would allow someone to pay your bills and take care of your day-to-day financial concerns. A Healthcare POA, on the other hand, is designed to give someone the power to accept or decline medical treatments on your behalf.

Both are equally important components of a complete estate plan. To learn more about incapacity planning and how best to protect you and your loved ones, contact our office.

Larry Parman
Attorney at Law

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Larry Parman, Estate Planning Attorney, Author, Speaker

Founder and Owner at Parman & Easterday

Larry Parman's dad died at 56 in a farm accident with no estate plan. His family spent two years fighting the IRS and nearly three years in probate. That experience became Larry's life work.

Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."

Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.

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