New Power of Attorney Laws for Florida

There are new power of attorney form laws for the state of Florida that were enacted on October 1, 2011. The Senate Bill 670 is summarized below on the new changes.

• Springing Power of Attorney is no longer legal in the State of Florida. (Springing Power of Attorney Definition: A Power of Attorney that only takes effect upon a specific occurrence.)
• All power of attorney forms must be durable.
• The Principal must initial every page
• Third parties are allowed to hold copies rather than originals
• An agent cannot delegate their duties to another person.

The State of Florida Power of Attorney Form has changed because the elderly in Florida majorly fill-out power of attorney forms for medical reasons, and the general power of attorney and limited power of attorney forms do not cover elderly for when they become incapacitated. So, the legislature made it so ALL power of attorney forms cover you if you become incapacitated.

Read other power of attorney blog posts

How do I Execute a Power of Attorney?

How do I execute a Power of Attorney?
Easy, you can execute a Power of Attorney in three easy steps.
1. Get your Power of Attorney - It is very easy to get a Power of Attorney Form, you can go to a number of websites such as PowerofAttorneyForm.com where you can get blank easy to fill in (and editable) forms in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word.
Or
You can go to LegalZoom.com or Rocketlawyer.com and you can fill-out your Power of Attorney Form, but you cannot edit it and it does not come in Microsoft Word.

2. Fill-Out your Form - It is very to fill these forms out. Here is an Example Power of Attorney Form PDF from PowerAttorneyForm.com.  As you can see these forms are extremely easy to fill in with plain english below that anyone can understand.

3. Have a Notary Witness - Most banks in the United States have notaries that will sign any Power of Attorney Forms you may have for free (if you have an account with them). That's it, Whola! Done! You officially now have someone else that will represent you as your power of attorney.

To read some of other blog posts go to our Power of Attorney Tumblr Page.

How do I make Power of Attorney Officially Legal?

How do I make Power of Attorney Officially Legal?
The process of maing power of attorney is simple but requires a few things to make it legally binding. See below;

• Must be in Writing
• All persons involved must be 18
• All Persons involved must thinking with a sound mind
• Must be notarized

The following are not required

• An Attorney must be involved
• Does not need to be filed anywhere at the state or government level

Witnesses:
The number of witnesses required varies from state to state. Most states do not require another witness other than the Notary Public. If they do require more, the most is 2 witnesses, so to be safe it would be strongly suggested that you have two witnesses just to cover your backside.

After the Signing:
After the Power of Attorney is signed, it should be placed in a safe place known to others. You may make photocopies available to select people.
 
Some states like California and New York require extra forms, but don't worry, they are just simple power of attorney addendums that just require you to "read" and put your signature down

What is the difference between General Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney

What is the difference between General Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney?

General Power of Attorney grants power from one person (usually known as the "Principal") to another person (usually known as the "agent" or "Attorney-in-Fact") for "all powers granted by law" until the principal becomes incapacitated or disabled.

Durable Power of Attorney grants power from one person (usually known as the "Principal") to another person (usually known as the "agent" or "Attorney-in-Fact") for "all powers granted by law" even if the principal becomes incapacitated or diabled.

See the major difference (only difference) is that when the principal becomes not in a sound mind anymore, the general power of attorney becomes void but the durable is still A-okay.
Example: Grandma gets Alzheimer's and cannot make decisions for herself anymore. The first tall-tail sign is when they start subscribing to all those non-profits in Africa, (At least it was for my grandmother).

Download Power of Attorney Forms at http://powerofattorneyform.com