Durable Power of Attorney

A document which allows you to name an individual (Your attorney, in fact) to act for you if you become incapacitated to transact any affair or to do any act or thing which you may legally do yourself.

Early powers of attorney allowed an individual to name someone to act in their stead in legal or business matters. Over time these statutes were expanded to allow "durable" powers of attorney (also known as a lasting or enduring powers of attorney) meaning that the legal appointment could continue even if the individual who originally executed the document later lost capacity to make his or her wishes known. For more information, see this link.