An attorney for property or attorney for personal care is someone named in a Power of Attorney (POA) document to have decision-making authority over another person. In the POA context, attorney doesn’t mean lawyer – it means the person given legal authority through the POA document.

A person making a POA document must consider who will be best suited to act as attorney.  If a person appoints more than one attorney, they must consider the pros and cons of appointing the attorneys:

• in succession (first one will act, then if he or she can’t act, the next one will act), or
• jointly (where they must all act together on decisions, all sign documents, etc.), or
• jointly and severally (where one attorney can act alone).

Joint and Several POAs – Benefits

One practical solution to the problems of joint attorneys is naming attorneys “jointly and severally”. This means either (or any) attorney can act.

If only one attorney is available when the need for a decision arises, he or she can act. If at another time a different attorney is available when the need for a decision arises, he or she can act then.

The greatest benefit of appointing attorneys jointly and severally is convenience. The attorney who lives closest by or who has the time available can step in as need be. Appointing attorneys jointly and severally also helps ensure there will always be someone with authority to act, even if one of the named attorneys is unavailable.

Joint and Several POAs – Drawbacks

The drawback of appointing attorneys jointly and severally is that attorney 1 may make decisions attorney 2 disagrees with, but attorney 2 may not discover this until after the fact.

This is because each attorney can act unilaterally, so only one signature is needed, or only one person needs to attend the bank or hospital and give instructions. It is not uncommon for warring attorneys to act separately and without telling each other what they are doing. These situations often result in the attorneys fighting in court.