No. You do not lose your authority to act, even though you have given your agent authority similar to yours. You may choose to keep your original documents yourself, but in a place accessible to your agent in an emergency. Your agent should be on standby and should not act if you could manage your own affairs, unless you have instructed him or her to assist you. Some people choose to give their agent the original power of attorney as soon as they sign it, with the belief that while they still have capacity, they can “test” their agent to ensure that the agent is trustworthy and acting in accordance with their wishes. Others, prefer not to give their agents the document, and only leave it in a place that is accessible to their agent in case of emergency. Something to think about: If you don’t trust your agent to act in your best interest while you have capacity to see what they are up to, they may not be the best person to act as agent when you lose capacity, when you can no longer oversee their actions.
By Esther Schwartz Zelmanovitz
