Power of Attorney & Affidavits

Power of Attorney
A power of attorney lets your attorney-in-fact act on your behalf in any manner you allow him to do so. The attorney-in-fact typically interacts with third parties on your behalf. For example, if you grant financial power of attorney to someone to handle your business affairs while you are on vacation, your agent can pay your bills, conduct business and interact with anyone on your behalf as he takes care of your affairs.

Affidavit
An affidavit is a sworn statement made by a person who swears under oath that the statement is true. When you make an affidavit, you affirm that your statement is true and do so under penalty of perjury, just as if you made the statement in court under sworn testimony. Perjury is a crime. If you knowingly make a false statement in the affidavit, you commit the crime of perjury, and the state can punish you by charging with fines and incarceration.

POA Affidavit
When your agent acts on your behalf with another party, that party often requires the agent to prove he has power of attorney. A common way to do this is to require the agent to submit an affidavit as to power of attorney. In this document, the agent states that he is your agent, that you granted him power of attorney and that you have nor revoked it. The agent also typically includes a copy of the power of attorney along with the affidavit.