The durable power of attorney is one of the tools in the legal toolbox known as the estate plan. The person in charge of it is called your agent. That person is not your trustee or your executor. It might be the same person you designated for one of those jobs, but the hat they wear here is the hat of the agent.
Agent, not "attorney-in-fact"
Sometimes people say "attorney-in-fact." I am not a big fan of that term, because people think the person has to be a lawyer. The agent does not have to be a lawyer, so I prefer the word "agent."
What the agent does
The person you designate can act as your alter ego in many different circumstances. People ask whether that sounds like the trustee, who also acts on your behalf. The answer is yes, but only with respect to living trust matters. A lot of things in life have nothing to do with a living trust. Your agent can act for you by:
- talking to your credit card companies,
- dealing with the human resources department at your job,
- talking to your attorney or CPA,
- handling other situations where you need someone to act for you that have nothing to do with your living trust.
Not the health care agent
Some people say this sounds like the person who makes health care decisions. That is a different tool in the toolbox, called an advance health care directive. That person is also called your agent, but makes decisions on health care matters.
The way I explain it to clients is that your agent under the power of attorney acts for you on all matters that do not directly deal with health care and do not directly deal with your living trust. If you need help with your estate plan, please contact my office.