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Virginia Power of Attorney

A Virginia Power of Attorney (PoA) is a legal document that grants a person or entity the authority to manage financial matters on your behalf, such as signing contracts, selling your property, accessing bank accounts.

The individual giving control is called the "principal," and the person or organization gaining authority is known as the "agent." Suited for residents of Virginia, our Power of Attorney can be used in Virginia Beach County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, and in every other part of the state. All Virginia PoA forms from Rocket Lawyer can be edited for your unique scenario. This essential legal document will provide verification to financial institutions and other parties that your selected agent(s) can sign documents or take other actions for you.

It's fast and easy to give or get the authority you may need with a free Virginia Power of Attorney template from Rocket Lawyer:

1. Make your PoA - Answer a few questions and we will do the rest
2. Send or share it - Review it with your agent or seek legal advice
3. Sign it - Mandatory or not, notarization/witnesses are a best practice

This route is often much more affordable than hiring and working with your average law firm. If necessary, you may start this PoA on behalf of an elderly parent, a spouse, or another family member, and then have that person sign once you've drafted it. Please keep in mind that for a Power of Attorney to be valid, the principal must be an adult who is mentally competent when they sign. If the principal is already unable to make their own decisions, a conservatorship could be necessary. When dealing with such a situation, it would be a good idea for you to connect with an attorney.

Every person over 18 should have a Power of Attorney. Although it's unpleasant to acknowledge, a time will likely come when you can no longer make your own legal decisions. There may even be moments when you're merely unavailable. Here are some typical occasions in which a PoA can be useful:

• You are getting older or dealing with limited mobility or ongoing health issues
• You are living abroad or out of state
• You wish to give someone the ability to manage certain financial or legal matters in your absence or if you are not well
• You currently live in a residential care facility and need help managing financial affairs

Regardless of whether your Virginia Power of Attorney is being made as a result of an emergency or as part of a forward-looking plan, witnesses and notarization often help to protect your agent if their authority is challenged.

There are a few different ways to classify Power of Attorney documents. They are primarily dependent on how long the powers are in effect, when they come into effect, and what they grant authority over. Most often, you may see them defined in four segments:

• General Power of Attorney - Will grant broad authority over your affairs
• Special Power of Attorney - Will grant a limited scope of powers over specific matters
• Durable Power of Attorney - Will remain valid even if you become mentally incompetent or incapacitated
• Springing Power of Attorney - Will come into effect based on certain criteria

When creating your free Virginia Power of Attorney, you may decide to have the agent's power start on a selected day, immediately upon signing, or only at the point when you are no longer capable. The Power of Attorney may end either on a specific date or upon your death.

Virginia Power of Attorney forms are generally straightforward; however, you or your agent(s) could still have questions. The answer may depend on whom you reach out to, but often some lawyers will not even agree to review documents that they did not author. An easier approach might be via Rocket Lawyer attorney services. With a Premium membership, you have the ability to ask for a document review from an experienced attorney or send other legal questions related to your Power of Attorney. We are here for you.

The cost of finding and working with a traditional lawyer to create a Power of Attorney might total anywhere between two hundred and five hundred dollars, based on your location. Different from many other Power of Attorney template websites that you may encounter, Rocket Lawyer provides Premium membership holders up to a 40% discount when hiring a lawyer, so an attorney from our On Call network can assess the situation and take action if you ever require assistance.

Attached alongside each Power of Attorney form, there will be a checklist of next steps you can take to finalize your document. Feel free to interact with your PoA in all of these ways: editing it, downloading it in PDF format or as a Word file, and/or signing it. Finally, you will need to provide a final copy of the signed document to your agent(s), financial institutions, and other impacted parties.

The specific requirements are different in each state; however, in Virginia, your document will need the signature of a notary. If your agent(s) will have the authority to engage in real estate transactions, the Power of Attorney must be notarized and recorded or filed with the county.

See Virginia Power of Attorney law: Title 64.2, Chapter 16