The document that lets someone you trust handle your money and property if you can’t — pay your bills, manage your accounts, deal with your house, file your taxes — one of the most-searched legal forms there is. You (the principal) appoint an agent (your attorney-in-fact) and decide exactly what they can do. Pick the kind and PaperKit reshapes it: a DURABLE power that works the moment you sign and keeps working if you later become incapacitated (the whole point — an ordinary POA dies exactly when you need it most), or a SPRINGING power that stays dormant and only kicks in if a doctor certifies you can’t manage your affairs. Choose one agent, or two co-agents who must act together (jointly) or can each act alone (severally), and name a successor in case your first choice can’t serve. Then tick precisely which powers you grant — real estate, banking, investments, business, taxes, insurance, government benefits (Social Security, Medicare, VA), and estate/trust transactions with limited gift-making — and add any limits (‘my agent may not sell my home’). PaperKit assembles every section — designation of agent, effective date and durability, successor agent, the enumerated grant of authority, your special instructions, the agent’s fiduciary duties, compensation, third-party reliance so banks will accept it, and governing law — and lays out the execution page with witness lines and a notary acknowledgment block. It’s self-drafted: you review and e-sign online, then take the clean PDF to a notary. (A POA must be signed and, in most states, NOTARIZED — sometimes witnessed — to be accepted; this covers finances only, not health care, and ends at your death. Formalities vary by state; consider an attorney.)
The big lever — effective immediately (durable), or only if you become incapacitated (springing). Both survive your incapacity once in force.
Durable power: your agent can act as soon as you sign — and, crucially, keeps acting if you later become incapacitated (a plain, non-durable POA would die exactly when you need it most). This is what most people want.
One person acts as your agent (attorney-in-fact).
The person granting authority. You draft and e-sign it; your agent takes the authority without signing to create the document. A POA must also be notarized (and sometimes witnessed) on execution.
Tick exactly what your agent may do. Uncheck anything you want to withhold — the document only grants the powers you leave checked.
A financial POA covers money & property only — NOT health-care decisions (that's a separate medical POA / directive). It ends at your death, when your executor takes over.
A real, section-by-section power of attorney. The type choice drives durable vs springing; the agent choice reshapes who acts. Publish to get a hosted link the principal can e-execute online.
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A power of attorney is a template for convenience, not legal advice. It is a during-life agency document: the principal appoints an agent (attorney-in-fact) to act in financial and property matters. A durable POA survives the principal's later incapacity; a springing POA takes effect only upon incapacity as specified. Execution formalities are strict and vary by state — most states require the principal's signature to be notarized, and some also require witnesses; a POA that is not signed, notarized and (where required) witnessed correctly can be rejected by banks and other third parties. Gift-making and other “hot” powers are treated differently across states. A financial POA does NOT cover health-care decisions (a separate medical power of attorney / directive does that) and terminates at the principal's death. PaperKit is not a law firm. Review the instrument and consult a qualified attorney.