Power of attorney is a very, well, powerful thing - but many people aren’t even sure that they know what it comprises, let alone how these characteristics can benefit them one day. Too many people are unaware even that something like power of attorney exists! So what’s a great way to change all that? To keep reading, of course, and to learn just why the Power of Attorney can be a tremendous legal tool for respecting your wishes even when you can’t speak for yourself. Here are four benefits to power of attorney that should shed some light on exactly what it is.

Benefit #1: Your finances can be taken care of even when you aren’t able to take care of them. If you’re incapacitated to a degree that you can’t handle your own finances, then the general power of attorney will give someone else - hopefully, someone you trust - the ability to handle finances for you. That means they’ll be able to endorse checks, make deposits, and generally conduct finances in the same way you would if you were able to. This is a great benefit because it means your property and your estate will still go on even if you’re unable to take care of it yourself.

Benefit #2: You can restrict power of attorney to your specifications, in many cases. Power of attorney is not always something that you simply sign on the dotted line and the legal system takes over - in fact, you will have a great deal of say over what someone with power of attorney can do in your incapacitation or absence. This is a great way to ensure that someone can handle your affairs without the fear that they’ll take advantage of you in some way.

Benefit #3: If you’re not sure about what to do, you can simply assign “general” power of attorney to someone, which allows them to take care of whatever needs taken care of when you’re unable to do it yourself. This general power of attorney can include the aforementioned financial affairs, but it can also mean they handle legal matters, negotiations, property and housing arrangements - just about everything under the legal sun. This is great if you’re unsure as to how to proceed with power of attorney but know you need to assign it to someone in special cases.

Benefit #4: A power of attorney can help you set priorities. One of the most important questions you ask before you sign a power of attorney agreement is simple: who do you trust? Naming a power of attorney means that you have to find someone that you trust with almost 100% trust - someone who you’re sure would never take advantage of you because of the power of attorney situation. If you can find someone like this, it means you know who you trust in this world, and that can be a very good thing indeed.