Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney may sound sorta scary, but it's an important thing to understand. Power of Attorney is a legal document that authorizes someone to act on your behalf. Most students ask their parent, guardian or someone trustworthy to be their Power of Attorney, meaning those people would be able to make important decisions for you. This can be useful during your program abroad because your Power of Attorney can:

Sign and deposit checks made payable to you
Deal with issues related to your student account or financial aid

Help with insurance issues
Pay bills

UK Financial Aid and Student Account Services also require a FERPA waiver and/or myPasscode to release any financial info to parents or guardians.

We aren't legal experts though, so UK Education Abroad HIGHLY recommends that you seek legal advice before setting up a Power of Attorney.

When doing so, make sure that your Power of Attorney agreement is valid for the entire time you're abroad, and don't forget to give copies of your agreement to the UK Education Abroad office, other University departments (such as Financial Aid), and whoever is organizing your program (think partners, consortia, and other universities).

To set up your Power of Attorney agreement, either:

Make an appointment with a lawyer to draft a Power of Attorney document. This may involve some legal fees; or
Purchase a generic Power of Attorney form, fill it out, and sign the form in front of a notary public.