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Military Power of Attorney

A Military Power of Attorney (PoA) is a legal document that gives a person or entity the authority to manage legal and financial matters for you, such as signing contracts, accessing your bank account, and buying or selling real estate.

The person giving permission is called the "principal," and the individual or organization gaining authority is known as the "agent." Suitable for residents of all states, Military Power of Attorney forms from Rocket Lawyer can be fully personalized for your unique situation. As a result of having this official legal document, your agent(s) can provide verification to financial institutions and other parties that they can sign documents or take other actions for you when you are not present or able.

It's very easy to give or receive the authority you may need using a free Military Power of Attorney template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make your PoA - Provide a few details and we will do the rest
2. Send or share - Look over the document with your agent or get legal help
3. Sign and make it legal - Mandatory or not, notarization and witnesses are a best practice

This method, in many cases, will end up being notably more affordable than hiring your average attorney. If necessary, you may prepare this PoA on behalf of a family member, and then have that person sign it once you've drafted it. Please note that for a PoA form to be legally valid, the principal must be an adult who is mentally competent at the time of signing. If the principal has already been declared incompetent, a court-appointed conservatorship might be required. When facing this scenario, it would be best for you to connect with a lawyer.

Every person over 18 should have a Power of Attorney. Although it is challenging to acknowledge, a day might come when you can no longer deal with your affairs on your own. There will even be moments when you're merely out of reach. Here are some typical occasions in which you might find PoA forms to be helpful:

• You currently live out of state or abroad
• You are aging or dealing with ongoing health issues or limited mobility
• You are preparing to move out of your home and into a community care facility
• You would like to authorize someone to make decisions on your behalf in the event that you become legally incompetent or incapacitated

Regardless of whether your Military Power of Attorney is being drafted as part of a long-term plan or produced in response to an urgent issue, notarization and/or witnesses are strongly encouraged as a best practice for protecting your document if its authenticity is questioned.

There are several different ways to categorize Power of Attorney documents. They are mainly based on how long the powers will be valid, when they will come into effect, and what they provide authority over. Frequently, you may find them separated into four buckets:

• Durable Power of Attorney - Would remain valid even if you become incapacitated or mentally incompetent
• Springing Power of Attorney - Would be activated based on certain guidelines
• General Power of Attorney - Would grant broad powers over your affairs
• Special Power of Attorney - Would grant limited authority over specified matters

When generating your free Military Power of Attorney, you may choose to have the agent's power begin upon signing, on a precise day, or only at the point when you're no longer capable. Your Power of Attorney may end either upon your death or on a specific date.

Power of Attorney forms for military personnel are normally straightforward; however, you or your agent might have questions. It may depend on whom you approach, but quite often some lawyers may not even accept requests to review a document that they did not work on. A more favorable approach would be via Rocket Lawyer On Call^® network of attorneys. If you become a Premium member, you have the ability to ask for feedback from an experienced attorney or send additional questions about your Power of Attorney. As always, we'll be here to support you.

The cost of working with a legal provider to write a Power of Attorney might range between two hundred and five hundred dollars, depending on your location. Different from many other Power of Attorney template websites that you might discover, Rocket Lawyer gives members up to a 40% discount when hiring a lawyer, so an attorney can represent you if you ever require help.

As a Rocket Lawyer member, you will be able to make edits, save it as a Word or PDF document, and print it out. In order to wrap up your Power of Attorney, it must be signed. You will need to provide a final copy of your signed document to your agent(s), financial institutions, and other impacted parties.

The rules and restrictions for PoA forms vary in each state; however, it is strongly recommended to have your Power of Attorney signed by at least one witness and/or a notary public in order to reinforce its authenticity. If your agent(s) will manage real estate transactions, the Power of Attorney will need to be signed before a notary and filed or recorded with your county. Finally, as a basic rule, witnesses will need to not be under 18 years old, and none of them should also be acting as your PoA agent.