The Legal Liability of a Power of Attorney Agent
Download Our Free Estate Planning Guide- A person named as power of attorney is a fiduciary, and owes the person who selected him the duty to handle his care appropriately and to do his best. Everything is geared toward that person’s best interests.
- Older power of attorney forms, contained a line saying the holder of a power of attorney could make gifts, and the courts have ruled that any such gifts must be for the benefit of the individual.
- Gifts can be made to help get the person qualified for Medicaid. Gifts can also be made if the person had a history of gift-giving to charities. Gifts cannot be given merely to enrich the holder of the power of attorney.
- Theoretically, the power of attorney holder can be found liable for civil damages if he abuses its power, and some have gone to jail for misusing a power of attorney to enrich themselves.
