A Florida Power of Attorney (“POA”) enables you (the “Principal”) to appoint someone (your “Agent”) to act on your behalf. When acting on your behalf, your Agent acts as your fiduciary and therefore has a legal duty to act in your best interest. As your fiduciary, your Agent has the following obligations:
Authorized acts – Your Agent can only perform the acts that are authorized by the POA.
Reasonable expectations – Actions taken by your Agent on your behalf must be performed within your reasonable expectations.
Reasonable care – Your Agent must take actions on your behalf with reasonable care. For instance, if your Agent is managing your stock portfolio, then your Agent must act with caution and should not make unnecessarily risky moves with your investments.
Best interest – Your Agent must take actions that are in your best interest. Your Agent must not take actions that are self-serving or in the best interest of another.
Estate plan – If your Agent has knowledge of your estate plan, then your Agent must act in a way that protects the value of your estate plan. For instance, your Agent should act in a manner that minimizes estate taxes.
Special skills – If your Agent has special skills, then your Agent will have an obligation to use those skills to your benefit. For instance, if your Agent is a financial advisor, CPA, or tax attorney, then your Agent will have an obligation to use the Agent’s professional skills to your benefit.
Recordkeeping – Your Agent must keep copies of disbursements, receipts, accounting, transactions, and any other records related to their actions on your behalf.
If your Agent breaches his or her fiduciary duty to you, then your Agent can be liable to you for breach of fiduciary duty and he or she may need to reimburse you for any financial losses you incurred due to your Agent’s misconduct. Depending on the severity of the breach, your Agent could be sued, there could be criminal penalties, and your Agent could be removed from the POA.