The other person to whom you are intentionally providing powers or authority is called the agent or the attorney-in-fact. Take note that just because the term attorney is used does not necessarily mean that you need to give an authority only to a lawyer. Your agent or attorney-in-fact could be of any profession, not necessarily a lawyer. Power of attorney is a document that gives people the authority to act on another person s behalf for a specific period and matter depending on what is stated on the paper. This means that another person can sign documents for you and make decisions on your behalf. The person who gives the power of attorney is often called the principal while the grantee is called the proxy or sometimes the agent. Thus, it is important to look into the validity of these powers of attorney and the circumstances when they can become invalid. So if you are thinking of giving a power of attorney, read on. Because of the sensitive nature of this, power of attorneys are often only given to people that the principal ( the person giving the power of attorney to the agent) absolutely trusts. General power of attorney The general power of attorney provides the attorney-in-fact (or agent) authority in all situations unless specified by the document. General power of attorney would include accessing safe deposit boxes, setting up trusts, transferring assets to trust funds, filing tax returns, entering contracts, representing the principal (signor of the document) and buying and selling property. To avoid this problem, the power of attorney should be specific enough. Identify particular obligations or transactions that the agent or attorney-in-fact could handle. Also, to avoid problems with abuse in the document, the American Bar Association suggests that list any powers that the principal don t want the agent to have, like altering the principal s will or giving away the principal s property. Imagine your home getting foreclosed because you are physically unable to pay off your home loan while you were undergoing medical treatment in a hospital. If you do not have an attorney-in-fact, you might get into trouble with the law. You don t want that to happen, right? So it is a wise move to have someone take care of your properties while you are away.