South Dakota Power of Attorney Forms - US Legal Forms

A power of attorney (POA) is an essential tool for proper financial and estate planning. It allows you, called the principal, to appoint an agent, also called the attorney-in-fact, to handle whatever matters are described in the form on your behalf. Your agent will be able to use the authority you choose to delegate in the same manner as if you were handling it yourself. This can be very convenient when youre busy, out of town, ill, or have other reasons for wanting to delegate the task to another.

The form can also save you a great deal of money and trouble by bypassing the need for the guardianship process if you have an unexpected accident or illness, or suffer from mental incompetency. If you wait until youre already mentally or physically disabled and can no longer effectively make decisions, it will be too late to create a POA form, and appointing a guardian can involve much troublesome delay and thousands of dollars.

Title 59 of the South Dakota Statutes contains the laws governing agency. Well examine some of the important laws below:

• General or special agent You can create a general power of attorney form that grants broad powers to your agent. You should use this type of form to avoid a guardianship to protect you in the event of an unexpected event or mental incompetency. Only a highly trusted individual should be named as your agent in a general POA.

You can also create a special power of attorney to give the agent more limited authority to handle a particular act or transaction. For example, you can create a limited or special POA to handle banking matters, a car or house sale, stock transfer, etc. South Carolina Statutes Section 59-1-2

• Capacity You must have legal capacity to sign a POA form. This means you must be able to evaluate and understand the information contained in the form, so that its signed knowingly and with your own free will. A durable power of attorney will allow your agents authority to stay valid even after you become incapacitated, avoiding the need for guardianship. To create a durable POA, it must contain language showing your intent to have the agents authority remain in effect if you later become disabled or incapacitated, or theres doubt about whether youre still alive or dead. A nondurable form will automatically be invalidated if you become incapacitated after you sign it. South Carolina Statutes Section 59-2-1, South Carolina Statutes Section 59-7-2.1

 

• Health power of attorney Your agent may be authorized to make health care decisions for you. You must use a durable form, since your agents authority for health care matters will only take effect once youre incapacitated. You can provide instructions about your medical treatment and life support preferences for your agent to follow. South Carolina Statutes Section 59-7-2.1 et seq.