Updated August 09, 2023
An Oregon general (financial) power of attorney form confers the authority to a specified person to handle another person’s financial matters. This legal form terminates if the person granting the powers (the principal) is no longer able to make his or her own decisions. This means that it is NOT considered a “durable” power of attorney. Some people issuing such powers will prefer this form because of this security option. This type of fail-safe can be instrumental in safeguarding an incapacitated principal from an agent being contacted for a principal decision that he or she should be making only if the principal were available. Thus, this paperwork will also serve to protect an agent from being put in such a potentially uncomfortable position. Of course, if you wish the agent’s principal powers to continue even when the principal is rendered incapacitated, you may use the Durable Power of Attorney to set the desired agent in place to use principal power.
Laws
- Statutes – Chapter 127: Powers of Attorney
- Signing Requirements – No exact section of the Oregon Revised Statutes determines a specific signing requirement when executing general (financial) powers of attorney. However, the principal and their agent(s) should notarize the document to validate each signature.
How to Write
Download: PDF, MS Word, OpenDocument
1 – State The Identity And Location Of Each Party
The first requirement of this paperwork will be to properly identify each Party in the role that it plays. We will begin with the Principal. Use the blank space preceding the phrase “The Principal Of” to officially document the Name of the granting Principal. Then use the two blank spaces following this phrase to record the Principal’s Street Address/City and his or her State. 
This paragraph’s language will now concern itself with assigning the Agent or Attorney-in-Fact receiving Principal Authority with an Identity and Location. Enter the Attorney-in-Fact’s Legal Name in the space following the phrase “Hereby Designate.” Then use the next blank space to report his or her Street Address/City
2 – The Powers That Can Be Granted Are Listed For Approval
The “I. Powers” section in this document supplies a comprehensive list of the Principal Powers commonly assigned to Attorneys-in-Fact. Any of the Powers can be easily approved by the Principal when he or she initials the blank line preceding it. The Principal should not initial any paragraph describing behaviors the Agent may not engage in.
The first paragraph, “1. Power To Make Payments Or Collect Monies Owed,” provides a detailed account of actions within this area the Agent may take in the Name of the Principal such as making debt payments or requesting any amount of money due to the Principal. The Principal will grant the Agent the Power to conduct these affairs by initialing the blank line preceding the number “1.”
The Principal should initial the paragraph labeled “2. Power To Acquire, Lease And sell Personal Property” to give the Agent the Principal Authority to engage in the Principal’s Personal Property affairs (leasing, selling, conveying, delivering, etc.) as per the definition this statement provides 
The Principal’s ability “Power To Acquire, Lease And Sell Real Property” will be assigned to the Agent through the Principal’s act of initialing the blank line preceding the third paragraph. 
If it’s been determined the Agent must be able to perform actions such as maintenance, repairs, improvements, and other management duties on any kind of Property the Principal has Authority over, then the Principal must supply his or her approval by initialing the blank line corresponding to “4. Management Powers.”
The Principal can enable the Agent to wield Principal Power with the goal of performing Banking tasks in the Principal’s Name, both with Banks and other financial institutions, by initialing the line labeled “5. Banking Powers”
The Principal’s vehicles may be placed in the Agent’s Care when he or she is granted the Principal Power handle their paperwork and ownership. The Principal will be required to initial the “6. Motor Vehicles” paragraph to grant such Power to the Agent. 
The Principal’s Taxes and interaction with tax entities may be performed by the Agent with Principal Approval when the Principal initials the blank line corresponding to the “7. Tax Powers” paragraph
The Agent will have the Principal Power to handle business regarding the Principal’s Safe Deposit Boxes once, the Principal initials the blank line labeled “8. Safe-Deposit Boxes.”
The Principal can deliver the same Power to engage in various Gift Making Activities by initialing the ninth paragraph. 
If the Principal intends for the Agent to be able to perform “Lending And Borrowing” activities (making loans, obtaining loans, etc.) in his or her Name, the tenth paragraph will need to bear the Principal’s initials. 
The Principal can grant the Agent the Authority to enter any Contract (on behalf of the Principal) by initialing “11. Contracts”
The Attorney-in-Fact can have the Principal Powers to represent the Principal’s Health Care interests if the Principal initials the blank line preceding the label “12. Health Care.”
If the Principal initials the line associated with “13. HIPAA” he or she will be granting the Agent the representation Powers to act in the capacity defined by the Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 1996. 
The Principal Power to obtain professional services as well as arrange for payments can be delivered to the Agent in “14. Power to Hire And Pay For Services” as soon as the Principal initials the blank line preceding it
If the Principal initials the paragraph labeled “15. Reimbursement Of Attorney-in-Fact,” he or she will be assigning the Principal Power the Agent requires to seek and gain Reimbursement by wielding Principal Power to do so. 
Should the Agent be able to enforce this document by initiating “16. Power To Sue Third Parties Who Fail To Act Pursuant To Power Of Attorney”
The Principal can choose to add additional Granted Powers to the Agent by making sure they are recorded on the blank lines in “17. Other” then initialing that selection.
3 – Only The Principal Can Definitively Authorize When The Agent Can Wield Principal Authority
The Principal will need to attend two areas in “III. Effective Date And Termination” to give a Time-Frame to the Principal Powers the Agent is being granted here. This definition will be provided through the Principal’s choice between three options. The Principal’s choice must be solidified with his or her initials. To begin the Principal must initial one of the choices below the sentence “To Indicate When This Document Shall Become Effective…” He or she should initial the first choice if these Principal Powers should be granted when the Principal signs this paperwork while the second statement should be initialed if the Principal wishes a specific Date for these Powers to go in Effect. If such a Date is preferred, then it must be documented in the second statement before the Principal initials it. 
The next sentence “To Indicate When This Document Shall Become Terminated…” will supply three choices for the Principal to Terminate these Powers. If there is a preferred Calendar Date for this termination it should be entered on the blank lines in the first choice and this choice should be initialed by the Principal. If these Powers should remain active until the Principal revokes this paperwork, the second choice should be initialed. The last choice here will set the day the Principal is incapacitated as the Termination Date and should be initialed by the Principal if these Powers should terminate in such a manner.
4 – This Template Is Completed And Executed Only With A Witnessed And Notarized Principal Signature
The Principal will need to document when he or she signs this paperwork using the statement just above the Signature line near the end of this document. Three blank spaces have been supplied here so the Principal can enter this as a Calendar Date in an XX/Month Name/XX Date format. 
The Principal must sign and print his or her Name on the “Principal’s Signature” line and “Principal’s Printed Name” line.
5 – The Agent’s Formal Acceptance Of Power Is Required
The next page will begin with the heading “Acceptance Of Appointment.” This area will contain a statement that will define the Agent’s intent to accept then wield Principal Powers granted to him or her as required by the Principal. The Agent’s Name will need to be entered on the first blank line below the heading. Once this is accomplished, the Agent may read this statement, then sign and print his or her Name on the two lines beneath located under the statement 
6 – A Method To Authenticate This Document’s Singing Is Required For Legitimacy
The execution (signing) of this paperwork must be substantiated in a verifiable manner. That is, this action should be Witnessed by two individuals and Notarized. The first of these parties will be focused on in the “Witness” section. Each Witness must sign his or her Name and fill in his or her Address on the corresponding blank lines. There will be enough lines for two Witnesses to perform these actions beneath the “Witness” paragraph. 
The next party whose attention is required will be the Notary Public. This entity will need to use the space in the “Acknowledgment Of Notary Public” section to produce the information, credentials, and seal to notarize this document’s execution.