A surprising number of people do not have an estate plan in place, which means that they have not outlined what will happen to their assets should they die or become incapacitated. A power of attorney (POA) document ensures that someone is there to manage your affairs when you are not in a position to do so for yourself. If you have questions about building an estate plan and drafting a power of attorney document, a Wheaton, IL estate planning lawyer can help.
Definition of Power of Attorney in Illinois
Illinois defines a power of attorney as a legal document that allows you, the principal, to designate another person to make decisions on your behalf. The selected individual is called the agent or attorney-in-fact, and the decisions typically regard finances and health care. POAs can be specific or broad, limiting the agent’s responsibilities to a set of tasks or granting them a wide range of power. In Illinois, there are several types of POAs, but the two most commonly included in an estate plan are financial POAs and health care POAs.