The Nevada durable power of attorney (DPOA) is a legal document one party, called the principal, uses to transfer their powers to another party, called the agent or the attorney-in-fact, and which remains valid even if the principal becomes incapacitated.
The principal also authorizes the agent to complete certain actions and represent them before governmental, financial, legal, and other institutions and third parties.
The principal can use the durable power of attorney in every situation where they are not able to act personally due to dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, other physical or mental disability, or simply because they are located far from the place where a certain action must be taken.
Durable Power of Attorney Laws & Requirements in Nevada
Laws & Requirements
Relevant laws: Chapter 162A - Power of Attorney for Financial Matters and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions.
Signing requirements: The principal must provide the signature for the durable power of attorney before the notary public. § 162A.220(1)
Statutory form: The Nevada Legislature provides the statutory form for the power of attorney in the § 162A.620.
“Durable” definition: According to § 162A.040, “Durable,” with respect to a power of attorney, means not terminated by the principal’s incapacity.
How to Fill out a Durable Power of Attorney in Nevada
#1. Designate an Agent
Firstly, you must designate an agent who will represent you and act on your behalf. You should choose a person who is of legal age and has the legal capacity to act. Secondly, it should be a trustworthy person, especially if you are planning to authorize them to make decisions regarding your health care and finances.
Once you have determined the suitable agent, write their information (full name and mailing address) in the durable power of attorney form.
Here, you can also determine the successor agent, who will act in case the primary agent becomes incapacitated or, in some other way, unable to represent you.
#2. Grant Authority
Once you have determined the agent, you should define their scope of authority.
The durable power of attorney form provides three ways in which you can define your agent’s scope of authority:
Scope of Authority
General authority. With this option, you will enable your agent to take all the necessary actions and represent you before all third parties. You can also limit the general power of attorney by providing a list of activities the agent is not allowed to take part in.
Partial authority. Here, you can select the list of activities you want to include in your agent’s scope of authority by selecting them from the list of activities provided in the durable power of attorney template.
Specific authority. This is the most flexible option since you can describe the scope of authority in your own words. This means that you can include the activities that are not provided in the durable power of attorney form.
#3. Ensure the Form is Durable
According to Nevada legislation, the power of attorney is considered durable by default. Therefore, if you wish your power of attorney to be non-durable, you must specify so in the document.
#4. Sign the Form
The principal, or another person in the principal’s conscious presence, must sign the Nevada durable power of attorney.
#5. Notarize the Form
In Nevada, the durable power of attorney must be notarized. The notary public or another entity authorized to take such acknowledgments can perform the notarization.
#6. Store Your Durable Power of Attorney Form
After finalizing the Nevada durable power of attorney, you should keep it in your possession and in a safe place.
You can give one copy to the agent so they can prove their capacity to any third party they are interacting with on your behalf.
How to Revoke a Durable Power of Attorney in Nevada
You can revoke the Nevada durable power of attorney by making a verbal or written revocation, destroying the document with the intention of revoking it or issuing a new power of attorney that revokes the previous one.
However, the best way to make the revocation is to issue the revocation letter. This letter should include information about the agent and the power of attorney you wish to revoke.
To make the revocation effective, you should give one copy to the agent and to every third party the agent is interacting with on your behalf. In that way, all parties will be aware of the revocation.