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Georgia Durable Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal instrument which authorizes another person to hold one’s legal authority to act on behalf of him/her.  The person who authorizes his/her authority to another is called the principal, and the person who holds those authorities is called as an Agent or Attorney-in-Fact.  According to Section 10-6-1 of Official Code of Georgia, the relation between a principal and agent arises when one person expressly authorizes another to act for him or ratifies the acts of another in his/her behalf.  Under Section 10-6-2, an agency should be created by written instrument, and further a corporation can also create an agency in its usual mode of transacting business without its corporate seal.  Pursuant to Section 10-6-3, any person of sound mind can be appointed an agent and by this reason a principal can be bound by the acts of his/her infant agent.  According to Section 10-6-4, an attorney can be authorized by Executors, administrators, guardians, conservators, and trustees to sell and convey property in all situations where they are lawfully permitted to sell and convey in person.  According to Section 10-6-5, an agent can perform any action, except in situations of personal trusts in which special confidence is placed on the discretion, skill, or judgment of the person called to perform an action.  Therefore, in personal trusts an agent cannot delegate his/her authority to another unless specially empowered to do so.  Under Section 10-6-6, a condition is set upon a written power of attorney, which means that this written power of attorney becomes effective only at a specified future time or on the occurrence of a specified event or contingency.

Moreover under Section 10-6-20, any agency created for an illegal purpose will not create any rights to either party.  Pursuant to Section 10-6-21, an agent who exceeds the authority given to him will do it at his/her own risk.  Here the principal will have the privilege to affirm or dissent at his/her interest.  Therefore, an agent should act within the authority granted to him by the principal.  According to Section 10-6-22, a hired agent is bound to take due diligence, ordinary care, and skill.  A voluntary agent (without hire or reward) should only be liable for gross neglect.  Under Section 10-6-23, in cases where an agent is jointly appointed by many persons to perform an act for their joint benefit, an agent’s act is protected by the instruction, of any one person, which is not inconsistent with the general directions of others.  Furthermore there exist various types of relational responsibilities between an agent and a principal while exercising their rights under durable power of attorney, under Section 10-6-24 et seq.


Inside Georgia Durable Power of Attorney