How to have a POA sign a contract and other legal documents.
It is very important that your Power of Attorney (POA) clients sign their documents appropriately to protect the signer from personal liability.
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How to Properly Sign a Power of Attorney Document for Someone
When someone gives you power of attorney, he or she is entrusting you to act on their behalf. Some powers of attorney don’t go into effect until the principal, the person granting you the power can no longer act for themselves. Others may go into effect as soon as both of you sign the power of attorney document. When you sign documents for someone else in this capacity, it’s important to make it clear that you’re acting on their behalf, not contracting for any debt or transaction personally.
- Have your power of attorney document with you when you sign anything on the principal’s behalf. The entity or person with whom you’re contracting will probably want proof that the principal has authorized you to act for them. Ideally, the principal has already provided copies to all institutions with whom she expects you to deal, but don't count on this.
- Sign the principal’s name first, not your own. This eliminates any confusion that you’re acting in your own interests or assuming any personal liability for what you’re signing. The principal is actually the one engaging in the transaction.
- Sign your own name after the principal’s name, after including the word “by.” This indicates that the principal is engaging in the transaction through you. For example, you would write, “Sally Smith, by Samuel Smith.”
- End the signature by indicating that you’re acting under power of attorney. You can do this in one of several ways. After your name, you can write in the words “agent,” “attorney in fact,” “power of attorney” or simply, “POA.” Your final signature should read similar to "Sally Smith, by Samuel Smith, power of attorney."