What is a Power of Attorney?

Many people have heard of the term “Power of Attorney” before, but not everyone is aware of what a Power of Attorney is. Having the appropriate Power of Attorney forms in place is important to consider when reviewing your personal and estate documents.

Two different documents
To begin with, there are two types of Power of Attorney designations:

• Power of Attorney for Property (POA)

  and

• Power of Attorney for Health Care (POAHC)

This is important to understand, as many people think that one type of designation can cover both situations—this is not the case. These two types of agency designations are completely separate from one another, and cover vastly different situations. Both, however, are an important part of your estate planning.

Power of Attorney for Property

A Power of Attorney for Property is a document you complete to designate a trusted person, known as your agent, to take care of financial matters on your behalf.

Your agent can intermittently handle certain financial affairs for you at your request, such as sign and deposit a check for you while you’re away on vacation, or he or she can assume a much larger role, such as taking over all of your financial affairs if you become unable to handle them yourself. If you wish to restrict how much authority your agent has with your finances, you must set limitations in writing.

By having a POA in place, you ensure that your finances can be taken care of immediately by your agent if you suddenly become unable to take care of them. A POA for property is the designation that applies to any matters regarding your IMRF account.

To learn more about POA's that IMRF will accept, click here.

Power of Attorney for Health Care

A Power of Attorney for Health Care has nothing to do with your finances, but everything to do with your wishes and beliefs about your medical care and treatment.

When you create a POAHC, you are choosing a trusted person, known as your agent, to make any decisions for you about your health care and treatment if you are unable to do so.

You can also include specific directives regarding your wishes, which no one—including your agent—can change.

It is important to talk about how you feel regarding medical treatment and care with the person you choose to designate as your agent so he or she can act according to your wishes. A POAHC has nothing to do with any matters regarding your IMRF account.

Prepare documents ahead of time
The most important thing to remember is to have these documents in place before you need them. If you suddenly become unable to make your own decisions and do not have a POA and/or POAHC in place, it is too late to create them.

By making sure you have designated these agents, you ensure that your wishes regarding your financial and health care decisions will be respected.

Forms available on the Internet

You can complete these documents with the assistance of your personal lawyer, or you can use standardized forms from the state of Illinois. (If you reside in another state, check with an attorney to verify that the Illinois forms are valid.) Click on the following links to obtain standardized forms from the state of Illinois:

Power of Attorney for Property

Power of Attorney for Health Care

Not all IMRF documents can be signed by an agent under a POA!
An IMRF retiree is the only person who may sign and/or change an IMRF Designation of Beneficiary Form (Form 6.11A). Any other representative acting on the retiree’s behalf, including an agent under a POA, may not change or sign this form. A Form 6.11A signed by anyone other than the retiree is invalid and will not be accepted.

Therefore, it is important for you to make sure your Designation of Beneficiary form is up to date. If you can’t remember who your beneficiary is, we recommend that you fill out and submit a new Form 6.11A.