Editing Power of attorney (section)

==Attorney-in-fact==
The term ''attorney-in-fact'' is used in many jurisdictions instead of the term ''agent''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Attorney-in-Fact|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/attorney-in-fact|website=Wex|publisher=Cornell University Law School|access-date=4 May 2017|date=2010-08-19}}</ref> That term should be distinguished from the term ''[[attorney at law (United States)|attorney-at-law]]''. In the United States, an attorney-at-law is a [[solicitor]] who is also licensed to be an advocate in a particular jurisdiction. An attorney-in-fact may be a layperson and is authorized to act pursuant to the powers granted by a power of attorney but may not engage in acts that would constitute the unauthorized practice of law.

In the context of the unincorporated [[reciprocal inter-insurance exchange]] (URIE) the attorney-in-fact is a stakeholder/trustee who takes custody of the subscriber funds placed on deposit with him, and then uses those funds to pay insurance claims. When all the claims are paid, the attorney-in-fact then returns the leftover funds to the subscribers.

The [[Uniform Power of Attorney Act]] employs the term ''agent''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/dpoaa/2008_final.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129080542/http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/dpoaa/2008_final.htm|url-status=dead|title=Uniform Power of Attorney Act, 2006|archive-date=November 29, 2011}}</ref> As an agent, an attorney-in-fact is a [[fiduciary]] for the principal, so the law requires an attorney-in-fact to be completely honest with and loyal to the [[Principal (commercial law)|principal]] in their dealings with each other.

An attorney has power to act on behalf of the person; this power can be misused, for example, to steal the assets of a person who may be vulnerable (e.g. [[elder abuse]]) or absent.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hughes|first1=Michele|title=Remedying Financial Abuse by Agents Under a Power of Attorney for Finances|journal=Marquette Elder's Advisor|volume=2|issue=4|pages=39–48|url=http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1264&context=elders|access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref>