General Power of Attorney in Texas
Texas law permits a number of different powers of attorney. There are two general categories of powers of attorney available in the Lone Star State. These include powers of attorney for health care purposes and those for financial matters. The law in Texas establishes specific procedures to establish and maintain a general power of attorney.
Other People Are Reading
-
Function
-
A general power of attorney is designed under Texas law to designate an agent to act on your behalf to deal with your financial affairs. The function of this type of power of attorney is to appoint a person you trust to deal with all or nearly all of your financial affairs. At the other end of the spectrum is a limited power of attorney appointing an agent to take care of a single financial matter or transaction.
Types
-
Texas law establishes two different types of general powers of attorney, durable and non-durable. A durable general power of attorney in Texas continues in effect even if you become incompetent. On the other hand, a non-durable general power of attorney terminates upon your incompetence.
-
Execution
-
A general power of attorney is in front of a notary public. No other witness is required to effectively execute a power of attorney. The failure to sign a power of attorney before a notary public renders it invalid and of no effect.
Benefits
-
The benefits of a Texas general power of attorney is providing you the ability to designate an individual you trust and who possesses expertise to oversee all of your financial matters. Such an appointment is particularly useful if you are unable to devote the time to appropriately oversee investments and other financial matters.
Termination
-
Texas law provides a number of ways to terminate a general power of attorney. You can include a specific termination date within the instrument itself. Additionally, you are able to terminate a power of attorney at any other time you desire, provided you are competent. A termination at another time is accomplished by destroying the original power of attorney or sending a written notification to the agent advising that you terminate the instrument.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Hand and document at the meeting image by Dmitry Goygel-Sokol from Fotolia.com
