Is an Attorney Needed to Sign Power of Attorney Documents?

When planning for the future, wills and trusts are often the documents that come to mind. They guide your loved ones when handling your affairs after you pass away. However, situations can arise in which you’re still alive but unable to take care of yourself due to illness or age. These are the times when power of attorney (POA) is needed. While a power of attorney can be established after a incident that leaves you incapacitated, it is best to put it in place beforehand.

Types of Power of Attorney

There are two main types of POA:

1. Financial Power of Attorney: This document lets you choose someone (an agent) to make decisions about your money and property. This person can handle tasks like paying bills or managing your bank accounts if you can’t do it yourself.
2. Health Care Power of Attorney: This type of POA is all about medical decisions. It lets your agent decide on medical care if you’re unable to. This can include choices about treatments or medications.

Do You Need an Attorney to Prepare These Documents?

While it’s usually a good idea to talk with an attorney when making a POA, it’s not a must. You can create these documents on your own, especially if meeting with a lawyer is difficult but the need is high, as we experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic.

How to Make Your Own Power of Attorney in Nevada

In Nevada, you can find the forms you need for both financial and health care POAs in the Nevada Statutes. For a financial POA, look at NRS 162A.620, and for health care, check out NRS 162A.860.

These sections provide the language you’ll need to make an accurate and robust document.

After you’ve got your forms, you need to sign them in front of a notary public to make them official. If meeting a notary in person is tough, Nevada allows for electronic notarization. You can find more info on this at the website for Nevada’s Secretary of State.

At Clear Counsel Law Group, we offer in-person consultations, phone consultations, and video conferences. We’re here to talk about your estate planning needs, including setting up POAs.Top of Form