In Illinois, estate planning gives you the legal right to set up a power of attorney, or POA. Managing your estate may call for others to have equal authority over your business or finances, so granting others authority on your behalf is what a power of attorney does. As a legal document, a POA is useful if you’re incapacitated and in a few other situations.
Financial or business transactions closed
Business owners often think about powers of attorney as a substitute to their authority when they’re disabled. Through estate planning, the agent, being the person receiving authority, takes a predetermined set of actions in the case of your absence. Their authority goes as far as completing financial transactions, be it buying or selling, on your behalf. This extended authority ensures that neither your business nor finances get neglected in your absence.
Living adventurously or traveling abroad
Estate planning takes into account the lifestyles of those who travel or partake in global adventures. Any time you’re not physically located where your signatures or consent are needed, a power of attorney can remedy such situations. In some cases, a spouse can act on your behalf, but a POA limits their authority in substitute of another’s.
Choose the right agent for your POA
The agent you choose should be equipped for the tasks you need them for. In terms of POAs, your options consist of conventional, durable, springing, and medical types. Each establishes an agent’s authority on the premise of medical care, an emergent crisis, or as an indefinite authority. It’s you who must choose the person receiving your authority for the duration that you wish.