A person (the agent) who receives a “power of the attorney” from another person (grantor) is authorized to act for the grantor in legal or financial matters. The agent is an “attorney in fact”. The legal document granting authority to the agent is also referred to as the “power of attorney”.
There are two types of a “power of attorney”:
- general – covers all activities; and
- special – grants powers limited to specific matters, e.g., selling a particular real estate parcel, managing certain bank accounts, or executing a limited partnership agreement.
A “power of attorney” may expire at the end of a specified time period, or upon the grantor’s cancellation.