It should state yourself as the principal and identify the agent you are appointing to take authority on your affairs if you become unable to do so. Of course, it is a requirement that your appointed agent agree to take the authority you are giving. The document should be duly witnessed by a lawyer or a notary public. Take this scenario as an example: you are selling a property and in a few weeks, you are going to be out of the state for a business purpose. Now, you might be worried that an interested buyer would visit your home while you are away. If you have authorized someone to take charge of your property in your absence beforehand, then you can rest assured that the sale would be properly negotiated and hopefully, a deal would be closed even if you are not present. Thus, the power of attorney serves to lift the burden from the executives, allowing them to become more productive. Company lawyers are often sent or subordinates who are trusted to make decisions and sign the contract. Another advantage of a power of attorney is its importance in making healthcare decisions. Your agent will only follow your orders, so long as you are mentally capable of making decisions for yourself. The agent also takes charge of keeping and organizing records of all transactions he or she made on your behalf. As the principal, you have the power to decide the amount of authority you will grant to your agent. This is very sensitive because the grantee will have the power to allow or disallow health care and will even be able to decide if hospitals will pull the plug in case the principal falls into a coma. There is also what they call the Psychiatric Advance Directives, which gives the grantee the right to decide for the care and treatment of someone who is mentally ill. But deciding whom you will entrust your assets, money, and health (even your life) can be very tough. To make the selection process a bit easier for you, take heed of the following considerations that you must include when nominating a person in your power of attorney. Age It is a basic factor in determining whether someone is fit to become your attorney-in-fact.