At what point in time is the power granted to the attorney-in-fact?

At what point in time is the power granted to the attorney-in-fact?

A power of attorney for assets can be drafted to confer the power to act immediately, or upon the occurrence of some event. That second power is called a "springing" power of attorney. Typically, the event that must occur is the disability of the principal and a written statement to that effect by two doctors, and the definition of who the doctors are could be unique to any particular document. The benefit of the springing power is that it protects the principal from an agent or attorney-in-fact who decides to act on his own when he really shouldn't be and there's no need to be. The problem with the springing power is that if you really need to have the power executed now, you can't do so because you have to jump through some hoops before the agent will actually have the power conferred.