Power of Attorney | New Mexico | Do It Yourself Law

The Basics:

A Power of Attorney is a document that you sign giving someone else permission to sign things and make decisions for you.

Example:

Someone appointed as your Power of Attorney can sign checks, deeds, taxes and other important documents for you.

You can sign a Power of Attorney, IF:

You are at least 18 years of age.
You are the person appointing someone to act for you.

A Power of Attorney requires:

Filling out the form with the name, address and phone number of who you want to appoint.
Printing and signing the document in front of a notary public.
To affect real estate, you may have to record the Power of Attorney with your County Clerk’s Office.

**IMPORTANT NOTE** A Power of Attorney is for financial affairs ONLY. If you are looking for something to take care of medical or health care issues, please go to the Advance Health Care Directive.

Some reasons people sign a Power of Attorney include:

To have something in place in case you are injured or become too sick to take care of your own financial affairs.;
To allow someone to sign a document for you that you cannot do yourself; and
To avoid your family or friends having to go to Court to get someone appointed