Notarizing POA and Wills
Notarizing POA and Wills
As per Washington DC law, the Power of Attorneys (POA) and Wills are considered as separate legal documents. Each one of these documents leads to separate responsibilities and rights for both parties.
As per Washington DC law, the Power of Attorneys (POA) and Wills are considered as separate legal documents. Each one of these documents leads to separate responsibilities and rights for both parties.
POA Creation:
It is stated in the state law that a person can authorize a power of attorney to the second
person via a signed legal document. This document states that the agent is given the legal
power to act on behalf of the principal. DC laws generally recognize three different types of
POAs where the first one is the general POA that is signed specifically for financial matters.
In this case, the principal gives power to the agent to act for all personal and business-
related monetary issues. The second type of document presents a limited POA where agents
are authorized by the principal to conduct financial transactions only for a specified duration
of time. Third, DC laws recognize medical directive or durable power of attorney that gives
agents a power to make essential decisions when the principal gets disabled, incapacitated
or incompetent due to some medical issues. All these documents are required to be
witnessed and notarized as per state law.
Will Creation:
This legal document is used to describe how the principal wants to dispose of his/her
property and assets after death. Will appoints some executor on behalf of the decedent
who can take care of the distribution of assets. In case if a person dies without writing a will,
he/she is considered as an ‘intestate,’ and the estate left behind is then governed as per
some set of laws in Washington DC. As per state laws, a person can frame his will after
crossing the age group of 18. This document is prepared in the presence of two witnesses,
and it must be notarized to ensure its validity.
Notarizing the POA and Wills in DC:
First of all, the person must have adequate testamentary capacity to write the will. The
principal must be aware of his/her assets, able to identify heirs or children and can sign the
last document comfortably. In order to validate the document, a person needs two
witnesses that can sign in front of the notary public.
While notarizing the document for POA or will, the person needs to follow all rules as per
the state laws. The basic details for completing this process are listed below:
The signer must be present in front of the notary public to sign the document.
As per state laws, the principal and signer must have valid proof of identity.
Notaries often need to take the thumbprint of the signer to assure accurate journal
entry.
It is important to make a clear statement that the signer is aware of the document
and willing to sign it.
The witnesses for the document must be above 18 years old.
The notary public may ask a few questions to ensure that the principal is preparing
his/her will without getting into any influence.