 | New Mexico Durable Financial Power of Attorney Form |
The New Mexico durable financial power of attorney form is a document that is made available to a Principal who would wish to select an Agent and grant powers to that Agent so that they may ensure that the Principal’s finances will be properly overseen in the event the Principal should fall ill or in the event of an extended absence of any kind. This document generally becomes available immediately, however, the Principal may select, within the form, to only allow the document to become effective when/if they become incapacitated.
The Principal must use care and read through this document prior to completion and signature, inasmuch as, the document will grant written powers for the selected Agent to have complete control over all finances and, if chosen, the Principal’s property, unless the Principal specifies a revocation date in writing or chooses to revoke the document prior to their death. If the Principal is uncertain of the full meaning of the document, they may wish to consider a consultation with an attorney so that they may be better educated with regard to the best way to ensure that the document is completely as the Principal would like it to be when they are no longer able to make their own decisions.
This document must be signed before a Notary Public. This document may be revoked at anytime. The Principal must simply provide written notice of revocation and deliver it to the Agent. The revocation will be effective on the date of completion or the date stated by the Principal.
How to Write
Step 1 – Notice – The Principal must begin by reading the notice at the beginning of the document before proceeding:
- Enter the Principal’s name
- Full address
- AND
- Name the appointed Agent
- AND
- If the initially appointed Agent is unable to act on behalf of the Principal:
- Enter the name of a Successor/Alternate Agent
- Read the remainder of this section
- Should a court decide that a Guardian should be appointed over the Principal’s person, the appointed Agent will be selected for this duty. Should the Principal choose not to allow the current Agent to be their guardian, strike through the statement to ensure that the Agent is not allowed to be placed in this role by the courts
- Check and initial if the Principal would like to select more than one Agent to serve – If the box is not checked and initialed, the one Agent will be allowed to act on their own as the guardian over the life of the Principal
Step 2 – Selection of Powers – The Principal must initial only the powers they would like the Agent to access. Any power that is not initialed will not be accessible to the Agent:
- Real estate transactions
- Stock and bond transactions
- Commodity and option transactions
- Tangible personal property transactions
- Banking and other financial institution transactions
- Business operating transactions
- Insurance and annuity transactions
- Estate, trust and other beneficiary transactions
- Claims and litigation
- personal and family maintenance
- Benefits from Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or other government programs or civil or military service
- retirement plan transactions
- Tax matters, including any transactions with the Internal Revenue Service
- Decisions relating to medical treatment, surgical treatment, nursing care, medication, hospitalization, institutionalization in a nursing home or other facility and home health care
- Transfer of property or income as a gift to the principal’s spouse for the purpose of qualifying the principal for governmental medical assistance
- All of the above – If the Principal would like to grant all powers, they only need select this statement
Step 3 – Special Instructions –
- Should the Principal choose to limit or state any restrictions pertaining to the powers that they have granted to the Agent, place this information into the lines provided in the form. If more space is required, add it on a second sheet, sign and date the added sheet and attach it to the form.
Step 4 – Commencement of Document –
- If the Principal would like to remain in control of their property, finances and health care until they are no longer capable, this box must be initialed by the Principal. If it’s left blank the Agent will take immediate control, and unless it’s revoked will remain in control and may act with or without the permission of the Principal until their death
Step 5 – Signature of Principal – Must be signed before a notary or the document will remain invalid:
- The Principal’s Signature
- (Optional by Recommended) – Social Security Number
- Date the signature in mm/dd/yyyy format
Step 6 – Notarization –
Once the document has been completed, the Notary Public will witness the Principal’s signature. The notary will then complete the document with the required information required to acknowledge the validity of the document.
