What Is a Limited POA for Property?

A power of attorney for property (POA) is a document that gives legal authority to another person to make financial and property decisions.

The person named in the POA document to make financial decisions is called the “attorney” for property, even though they don’t have to be a lawyer. They are usually a family member, a friend, or someone trusted.

A Power of Attorney for property will be valid for only a limited time or limited purpose if the POA document expressly states this. Let’s look at some examples.

Limited Time:

If you anticipate needing someone to handle several transactions during a limited time period (such as one month), you can make a limited power of attorney giving someone authority to handle all transactions for that time period (i.e. for that one month only). The person you appoint as your attorney under the limited POA cannot use the POA document before or after the time period specified in the POA document.

Limited Purpose:

If you anticipate a specific financial transaction will soon occur and you may be unavailable to handle the paperwork, for example the purchase or sale of a property, you can make a limited power of attorney (POA document) giving someone authority to handle that specific transaction. The person you appoint as your attorney under the limited POA cannot use the POA document to do anything but the transaction specified in the POA document.