All About Power of Attorney in Indiana
Power of attorney is essentially a means to authorize a person to act on your behalf. There are many situations where this can be beneficial, such as when an individual is unable to conduct their own affairs due to mental or physical limitations. In Indiana, there are two major subclasses of power of attorney to consider – health care and financial. You can create a power of attorney for just about any purpose, or it can be general in nature, but the scope for financial grants of authority is far more limited than health. A financial power of attorney ends if an individual is unable to manage their own affairs , while a health care power of attorney would not be affected by such an event. With a financial power of attorney, you can appoint someone to handle your financial affairs if you are unable to do so, however, the use of such a form and the individual’s ability to do so should be discussed with an attorney.
Being able to grant your authority to others is important, especially when you know you may be unable to participate in certain financial matters. Health care powers of attorney are sometimes known as living wills.
Power of Attorney Types
The Indiana Power of Attorney can be broken down into several different types of POA.
GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY: The General Power of Attorney is a legal document in which you give another person the power to act on your behalf in business and financial matters. The person you give the General Power of Attorney to is typically referred to as your agent or attorney-in-fact. Indiana law requires your General Power of Attorney to be in writing and signed in front of a notary public, unless the Power of Attorney is signed and given to a caregiver.
DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY: Indiana recognizes the Durable Power of Attorney which allows you to give your agent the power to act on your behalf in business and financial matters even if you become disabled or incapacitated. The Durable Power of Attorney is a very important document as any business or financial decisions affecting you will now require your agent to make those decisions in your absence. The agent must always act in your best interest. Indiana law requires that you sign a Durable Power of Attorney in front a notary public either here in Indiana or in another state. A Durable Power of Attorney in Indiana allows you to grant powers in general, financial, health care, and estate planning.
SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY: A Special Power of Attorney form allows the Principal to only set up the powers granted to the Agent for a specific purpose. It does not create an unlimited grant of power to the Agent.
MEDICAL POWER OF ATTORNEY: Indiana recognizes the Health Care Power of Attorney which allows you to name someone as your agent to make health care decisions for you if you ever become unable to make those decisions. Indiana law requires the valid execution of this power of attorney. You must date and sign the document in Indiana in order for it to be valid.
A financial Power of Attorney form can be created and given to allow your agent to manage your financial matters and accounts while you are still living. The durability of the Power of Attorney depends upon the wording used in the Power of Attorney form.
Getting a Free Indiana Power of Attorney Form
You can check the following websites to search for free power of attorney forms that apply to your state including Indiana, Indiana state government websites, legal aid and law libraries, or some commercial sites allowing you to download Indiana Power of Attorney forms for free:
Indiana Legal Services website
- Visit the website. Go to the homepage of Indiana Legal Services by following this link: https://www.indianalegalservices.org/. This is a free legal aid website that offers access to a free Indiana power of attorney form.
- Press the "Tell me more" button. Once you have reached the homepage of Indiana Legal Services, scroll down and look for the "Find legal information on this subject" section. Press the "Tell me more" button beneath the "Forms – Indiana Power of Attorney" title.
- Press the download button. The icon to download the Indiana power of attorney form is in the top left-hand corner that appears under the "Indiana Power of Attorney" heading. The file will automatically be downloaded on your computer in a .pdf format.
Note: In some cases, the file will be in a .Zip format which will require you to use a file extractor such as WinZip or .WinRAR. If you are unable to download the file using these programs, try downloading 7-Zip; a free application that allows you to view .Zip files.
Government website
- Visit the Indiana general government website. Go to the homepage of the Indiana general government website by following this link: http://www.in.gov/ipa/Pages/default.aspx.
- Select your consent. Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage looking for the "Agreement" section. At this point you will need to select "yes" to consent to the terms and conditions of the website. Next you will need to select the "Proceed" option in the box below the pop-up. Last, press the "I Agree" button to proceed to the government website.
- Search for the Indiana power of attorney form. Once the government website opens, you will see a search bar at the top right-hand corner of your screen. Type "Indiana form power of attorney" into the search box and press "Enter."
- Select your form. Once you have searched for your Indiana power of attorney form, a list of relevant files will be generated. Click on the link for the "Indiana Durable Power of Attorney Official Form 54761." The file will be downloaded onto your computer automatically in a .pdf format. As stated previously, you may need to use the file extractor program or application in order to open the file.
Legal aid website
- Visit the Nolo legal aid website. Go to the homepage of the Nolo website by following this link: http://www.nolo.com/.
- Search for an Indiana form. Once you have accessed the Nolo homepage, click on the magnifying glass icon in the top right-hand corner of your webpage. The search box will appear. Type "Indiana power of attorney" in the box and press the "Enter" key on your keyboard.
- Select your form. After you have followed the previous step, another list of relevant files will be generated. Click on the link titled "Indiana Durable Power of Attorney." You will then be directed to a page that provides the option to download your form. Once you have reviewed the information on the webpage, select the "Download" button in the top right-hand corner of your screen. The file will be immediately downloaded onto your computer in a .pdf format.
How to Fill Out an Indiana Power of Attorney Form
Every Indiana PoA form shares many of the same components, thus providing a useful base of legal terminology and formatting for individuals seeking to create the document for the first time. Because there are no required fields in Indiana’s statutory PoA form, for the purposes of this article a form containing all the possible fields will be used. However, this does not imply that all listed fields must be completed. On the contrary: some important information is missing, or is in the wrong place. As the rest of the article will show, adding a "Notary Public" section at the bottom and relocating the "Date" field help prevent the document from being denied by a bank or other institution.
Beginning on the upper right of the form, you’ll see a field for the state where it is being created. Leave your county blank for now, as it can be filled in after execution.
Underneath the state field is a drop-down menu for "Durability," which determines when the PoA becomes effective. Indiana law allows for a PoA to be effective immediately, at a later date or when the client is incapacitated. "Springing" PoAs, those that only become effective when the principal is incapacitated, are common, although the Indiana legislature has failed to further define what "incapacitated" means . That said, the document specifically states that it should not be granted to any agent at "an age older than necessary." In other words, trying to add a "Springing" component at the top of the form, when the law already protects against seniors being taken advantage of, is pointless.
The next field asks if this PoA supersedes any prior PoAs. This is unnecessary; Indiana law currently states that only the most recent PoA is valid, unless the principal grants his or her agent "certain powers" via "a separate and specific document." However, simply because the PoA does not grant the agent any further powers than those automatically conferred does not mean it isn’t still valid. The form should remain open as it is.
Finally in the top section are three large blanks, waiting to be filled with the name of the principal, the name of the agent and the date the form is being signed. While each of these fields must be accurate, there is no need to write down the exact address of the agent, or where the form is being signed.
Hopefully the above clarifications have worked to improve the Indiana PoA form somewhat. There are still many issues with it, but in this section we only make an effort to show how attempting to jam a "Notary Public" section at the bottom of the form often does not fit the needs of the form or Indiana law.
Legality and Validity
When issuing a Power of Attorney in Indiana, several legal considerations must be made. Not only must the Principal be of sound mind and willfully issue the document, but for the document to be legally binding in the state of Indiana, a signature and at least one witness is required. While our free Indiana Power of Attorney Form template does not require notarization, a Power of Attorney that has been notarized is generally more difficult to challenge in court. For this reason, my recommendation is that any Power of Attorney, once issued, should be notarized. However, if the issuing them is an emergency, such as issuing a Power of Attorney for health care for a family member who is gravely ill, the requirement for witnesses can and should be waived.
How to Revoke a Power of Attorney
In some instances, the person who gave the power of attorney may wish to not have that power anymore. Or an appointed agent may no longer be able to carry out its purpose. Seeing that these things happen, Indiana law allows powers of attorney to be revoked.
If the person revoking the authorization is able to communicate and carry out everyday tasks, they may revoke the authorization verbally or in writing. This is a power held by all Bob’s in the state of Indiana. Yet, if the authorization was provided to a financial institution or a principal, the revocation must be made in writing. Nevertheless, the principal can still revoke orally. Furthermore, the written notice has to:
-Confirm the POA is being terminated,
-Provide the name of the principal,
-Specify or provide a standard date on when the revocation shall be valid from,
-Indicate what shall happen to and be done with the property and assets, and
-Signatures to the end the principal provides.
Knowing the exact reasons that people would revoke an authorization is important. Many worry Or would like the peace of mind that it is in place in the event that they ever become incapacitated. The same goes for the person already having authorization in place.
People may want to terminate their authorization period while in good health , so all decisions are made on their terms. Others may worry that the person with the authorization may make that person’s decisions with a focus on self-interest, and they don’t want them to have any greater element of control over how their assets are handled. Particularly for seniors, they prefer not to have investors and others manage their estate, as they don’t want to lose control, until they can no longer make these sorts of decisions.
If there are issues between the person with power of attorney and the principal, that can lead to revoking the authorization agreement. Some people might want to revoke the authorization simply because it is no longer needed anymore.
Whatever the reason, the decision to revoke the authorization has to be made and written notice must be provided to those with a vested interest, such as the financial institution holding the authorization. So, a power of attorney termination form will have to be drafted. That voice must clearly state that the authorization is being revoked and that execution is final.