Friday, July 12, 2019

Can POA Agents Offer Gifts On Your Behalf

Power of attorney is a powerful document where the creator of the document, known as the ‘principal’ allows another individual known as the ‘agent’ to take critically important decisions on his / her behalf. An agent authorized by proper power of attorney document can take an array of decisions that usually includes management of business / finances, buying / selling property, taking important health care decisions in case the principal is incapacitated etc. Please visit this site to ​​get a sample power of attorney form.
 

However, when it comes to the matter of gifting on behalf of the principal the power of the agent usually falls short. In simple words, under general POA agreement, offering gifts is not counted among permissible duties of the agent.  The reason for this is very obvious, mostly considering that scope of gifting is vast and involves expenditure that does not directly contribute to the welfare of the principal.

At the same time, it is possible for agents to misuse the funds of the principal in the name of gifts which can sometimes lead to emptying of the bank account of the latter to an extent that the principal is left with no money to pay for his / her day to day expenses.

Conditions under which agents can offer gifts on behalf of the principal

There are conditions though, under which the appointed agent can offer gifts on behalf of the principal and this is only possible under a limited POA agreement. Here, the principal will have to specify the conditions under which the agent can offer gifts very clearly and comprehensively in the POA form. Corporate gifting usually comes under the purview of this provision.

However, to be on the safe side and to ensure that the right is not misused, it is always recommended that the principal mentions the names of the recipients of the gifts and the budget amount the agent can withdraw for the purpose.

For more information about getting a power of attorney in Indiana and power of attorney in Missouri, please visit this website.

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