Power of attorney sounds scary and formal, but it’s really just a legal document that says “this person can make decisions for me when I can’t make them myself.”
There are different types:
Financial power of attorney 財務代理権 lets someone manage your money, pay your bills, and handle business transactions. This is useful if you’re traveling, hospitalized, or otherwise unable to manage your finances temporarily.
Medical power of attorney 医療代理権 lets someone make healthcare decisions if you’re unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate your preferences.
General power of attorney 一般委任状 covers everything. This can be a limited power of attorney that covers only specific situations or time periods.
The key thing to understand is that power of attorney only works while you’re alive. Once you die, these documents become invalid and control transfers to your estate executor or next of kin according to your will and local law.
Also, power of attorney documents from your home country might not be valid in Japan, and Japanese power of attorney documents might not be valid in your home country. If you have assets in multiple countries, you might need multiple documents.
This is why you need to talk to actual lawyers who understand international estate planning, not just get forms off the Internet.
But the basic principle is simple: decide who you trust to make decisions for you, figure out what decisions they might need to make, and create legal documents that give them the authority to do so.
It’s like giving someone a spare key to your house, except the key unlocks your financial and medical decisions instead of your front door.
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