See the statutory form in the Forms section below.Įxecuting a power of attorney under Utah law The agent may sign an Agent's Certification form. See the web page on Utah's Advance Health Care Directive Act for more information and forms. The power of attorney does not authorize the agent to make health care decisions for the principal. The agent also has the authority under HIPAA (the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to access the principal's private health care information and communicate with the principal's heath care providers unless the power of attorney specifically restricts that authority. The statutory power of attorney form provides a checklist for the principal to use to designate the extent of the agent's authority. The areas of authority can be general, specific or limited. The power of attorney gives the agent specific authority to act on behalf of the principal. The nomination may be of the agent under the power of attorney or of someone else.
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See Utah Code Section 75-9-114 for the full list of an agent's duties.Ī principal may also nominate in the power of attorney a conservator or guardian to be appointed by the court if the principal is ever determined to be incapacitated. Comply with the terms of the power of attorney.Act only within the scope of authority granted in the power of attorney.Keep good records of everything spent or received.Manage all assets carefully and remember that the assets belong to the principal.Involve the principal in the decision making as much as possible.Respect the principal's wishes and act only in his or her best interests.This means that the agent must do the following: In addition, a principal can nominate a successor agent or agents to step in if the first agent resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, is not qualified to serve, or declines to serve.Īn agent has fiduciary duties.
Unless the power of attorney states otherwise, each co-agent may exercise their authority independently. The agent must act at all times for the benefit of the principal and not for him or herself.Ī principal can appoint more than one agent and have two co-agents, for example.
The agent is the person appointed by the principal to handle the duties stated in the power of attorney document. The principal does not have to understand how the agent will manage the principal's affairs. At the time of signing the power of attorney, the principal must have sufficient mental capacity to understand that s/he is appointing an agent to handle his or her affairs. The form can be used by any adult who has the capacity to complete it. Utah law provides a statutory power of attorney form (the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Utah Code 75-9-101 to 403). There are many power of attorney forms available on the Internet but they may be too general for your circumstances, they may not follow the requirements of Utah law, and they may not protect against financial exploitation and abuse. A well-written power of attorney can also help protect against possible financial exploitation and abuse.Ī lawyer experienced in estate planning is the most appropriate person to write a power of attorney and give you advice about what is needed in your situation. The agent cannot use the principal's assets in a way that is against the principal's wishes.Ī well-written power of attorney can be a helpful legal tool to allow someone else to handle a person's financial matters without the need of more complex arrangements like a trust or a court-appointed guardian or conservator, which removes many or all of the person's decision making authority. For example, selling one specific piece of real property. It can also be very limited and restrict the agent to one or more very specific tasks. Powers of attorney properly executed under prior law are still valid documents.Ī power of attorney is a legal document in which one person (called the "principal") gives to another person (the "agent," or sometimes called the "attorney in fact") authority to act on behalf of the principal.Ī power of attorney can be very broad, allowing the agent to perform a variety of tasks.
The law applies to a power of attorney created before, on, or after that date, and to any judicial proceeding concerning a power of attorney commenced on or after that date. Utah's Uniform Power of Attorney Act went into effect on May 10, 2016. It is not meant to answer all possible questions concerning powers of attorney. This is a general description of powers of attorney under Utah law.
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