Features

• The specific features of a power of attorney and the obligations assigned to the agent include ensuring that the grantor's interests are protected, be they financial or related to medical care and treatment. Agent obligations extend to carrying out any specific directives a grantor includes within the confines of the power of attorney instrument itself.
  
  

Function

• The function of the obligations assigned to the agent via the power of attorney is to ensure that appropriate decisions are made on behalf of the grantor when she is unable to make them herself. For example, if the grantor becomes incompetent, a power of attorney for health care obliges the agent to make appropriate medical care and treatment decisions on the grantor's behalf. These can include the obligation on the part of the agent to determine what, if any, extraordinary procedures are used to keep the grantor alive.
  
  

Termination

• Provided the grantor is competent at the time the request is made, a major obligation of an agent named in a power of attorney is to relinquish authority and immediately cease acting on behalf of the grantor. The grantor can terminate authority by verbally notifying the agent, delivering a written directive to cease or by tearing up the original power of attorney instrument.
  
  

Time Frame

• The agent's obligations remain in full force and effect the entire time the power of attorney is in place. An agent who abandons his obligations pursuant to a power of attorney is liable for any loss or injury sustained by the grantor as the result of the abandonment. An agent is able to resign his position by properly notifying the grantor of his decision, typically in writing.
  
  

Misconceptions

• A common misconception is that the obligations established by a power of attorney continue after the grantor dies. Specifically, some individuals wrongly believe that a person designated as an agent pursuant to a power of attorney is responsible for managing the estate of the grantor after her death. Authority and obligations under a power of attorney terminate upon the death of the grantor.