Ohio General (Financial) Power of Attorney Form
The Ohio General (Financial) Power of Attorney is a written contract formed between two (2) parties: the “principal” (person granting power), and the “agent” (person carrying out responsibilities). The agent can be a family member, close friend, or professional. If necessary, the principal can pay the agent for their service(s). The agent can be an organization OR a person.
Being a general type of POA, this grants wide and sweeping financial powers to the agent. Handling bank accounts, selling/purchasing property, filing taxes, and signing contracts are just some of the powers an agent is granted. Having said, the principal can retract certain powers they do not want their agent to have.
Being a contract that is made official by state statutes, the agent has a legal responsibility to act in the best interests of the principal. This means they must make all decisions and carry out all tasks to the sole benefit of the principal.
If the agent signs a document on behalf of the principal, they must do so by writing it in the following format: “[Agent Name] signing on behalf of [Principal Name]”.
Laws: Ch. 1337 “Power of Attorney”
Signing requirements (§ 1337.25): The principal must take the form to a notary public for signing (or use an online service like Notarize.com).