An authorized representative can carry any of a dozen titles, and the right one depends on who granted the authority and what the representative is allowed to do. The most common titles for an authorized representative are agent (also called attorney-in-fact), trustee, guardian, conservator, executor, administrator, healthcare proxy, corporate officer, proxy, registered agent, and representative payee. Each name tells third parties something specific about the scope of the person’s authority and the legal relationship behind it.
The title matters in practice. A bank, a hospital, a court clerk, or a business partner reads the title first to decide what the representative can sign, decide, or receive. Picking the wrong label, or using a title that doesn’t match the underlying document, is one of the fastest ways to have a transaction rejected.
Titles Created by a Private Document
Some representative titles exist because one person signed a document naming another. No court is involved. The person granting authority (the “principal”) decides who serves and how much power they get.
Agent or Attorney-in-Fact
An agent, also called an attorney-in-fact, is someone authorized through a power of attorney to handle legal, financial, or personal matters for the principal. Despite the name, an attorney-in-fact does not need to be a lawyer. This is the broadest and most flexible title because the principal controls exactly how much or how little authority to delegate.
Variations show up in the document rather than the title. A general power of attorney covers a broad range of financial and legal transactions. A limited or special power of attorney restricts the agent to a specific task, like selling a particular piece of property. A durable power of attorney stays in effect even if the principal later becomes incapacitated. A springing power of attorney sits dormant until a triggering event occurs, usually a medical determination of incapacity. The person named is still called an agent or attorney-in-fact in each case.
Trustee
A trustee manages assets held in a trust according to the trust agreement, for the benefit of named beneficiaries. Trustees control property they don’t personally own, which is why their obligations are unusually strict.
Healthcare Proxy or Healthcare Agent
A healthcare proxy, sometimes called a healthcare agent, is designated through an advance directive (specifically, a durable power of attorney for health care) to make medical decisions when the principal is too ill or incapacitated to communicate. Each state has its own form and requirements, and some require witnesses or notarization.1National Institute on Aging. Choosing A Health Care Proxy Depending on state law, the proxy’s authority can extend to treatment choices, selection of healthcare providers, and decisions about organ donation.
The proxy’s authority activates only when the principal cannot make decisions themselves. Until then, the principal keeps full control over their own medical care.
Titles Created by a Court
Other titles exist only because a judge granted them. Courts get involved when authority is being handed over against someone’s will, or when someone has died and left property that needs managing.
Guardian
A guardian is appointed by a court to make personal decisions for a minor or an incapacitated adult, including healthcare, living arrangements, and daily care. The court evaluates whether the proposed ward truly cannot manage their own affairs, then appoints someone and defines the boundaries of their authority. The process is supervised closely because it strips rights from the person being protected.
Conservator
A conservator is also court-appointed, but focused on financial matters rather than personal care. A conservator manages bank accounts, pays bills, handles investments, and oversees property. In some states, the same person serves as both guardian and conservator. In others, these are separate roles filled by different people.
Executor
An executor is named in a will to manage a deceased person’s estate. Once the probate court confirms the appointment, the executor collects assets, pays debts and taxes, and distributes what remains to the beneficiaries listed in the will.2Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator
Administrator
An administrator serves the same function as an executor but is appointed by a court when someone dies without a will, or when the named executor cannot serve. The administrator distributes assets according to the state’s intestacy laws rather than the deceased person’s wishes.
Titles Created by a Business or Government Agency
A third group of titles comes from corporate action or from a specific agency’s own rules. These titles often surprise people who assume a general power of attorney covers everything.
Corporate Officer
A corporate officer is a CEO, president, secretary, treasurer, or similar officer authorized by the company’s board of directors to sign contracts, manage accounts, and make binding commitments on the corporation’s behalf. The authority flows from formal board resolutions recorded in meeting minutes. Banks and business partners often ask for proof in the form of a certified board resolution or an incumbency certificate that lists authorized officers along with their titles and sample signatures.
Proxy
A proxy is specifically authorized to cast votes at corporate or organizational meetings in place of the person who holds the voting rights. The scope is narrow and tied to voting.
Registered Agent
A registered agent is an individual or company designated by a business entity to receive legal documents like lawsuits, subpoenas, and government notices. Every state requires businesses to name a registered agent. The role is purely about being a reliable point of contact, not making decisions.
IRS-Designated Representative
Dealing with the IRS on someone else’s behalf requires its own authorization, separate from any general power of attorney. Form 2848 is the standard method, and it grants the representative the ability to inspect confidential tax information, sign agreements and waivers, and act on the taxpayer’s behalf in dealings with the agency.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848 The IRS limits eligible representatives to attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, and enrolled retirement plan agents, with narrower rights for family members and unenrolled return preparers.4Internal Revenue Service. Power of Attorney and Other Authorizations
Representative Payee
A representative payee is appointed by the Social Security Administration to manage Social Security or SSI benefits for someone who cannot manage those benefits independently. A private power of attorney is not enough for this. The Treasury Department will not honor a power of attorney to negotiate Social Security or SSI payments, so anyone who needs to manage those benefits for another person must apply separately to the SSA for appointment as a representative payee.5Social Security Administration. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Representative Payees
Which Title Applies to Your Situation
Working out the right title is usually a matter of answering three questions. Who granted the authority? What kind of decisions does the representative need to make? Does the law or agency involved require its own designation?
If a living person signed a document naming someone to act for them, the representative is almost always an agent or attorney-in-fact, a trustee (if the document is a trust), or a healthcare proxy (if the document is an advance directive). If a judge signed an order, the representative is a guardian, conservator, executor, or administrator depending on the facts. If a business authorized the representative, the title is officer, proxy, or registered agent. And if the matter involves the IRS or Social Security, the agency’s own designation controls, regardless of what other documents the representative holds.
One mismatch catches people often. An agent under a power of attorney loses all authority the moment the principal dies. At that point, authority over the deceased person’s affairs shifts to the executor or administrator of the estate. The title changes because the legal situation has changed, and the old document no longer applies.
What Every Authorized Representative Has in Common
Regardless of the specific title, most authorized representatives owe fiduciary duties to the person they represent. A fiduciary duty is a legal obligation to act in the other person’s best interest rather than one’s own.6Legal Information Institute. Fiduciary Duty
Three core obligations run through every version of the role. The duty of loyalty requires the representative to put the principal’s interests ahead of their own, which rules out self-dealing and secret profits. The duty of care requires the competence and attentiveness a reasonable person would bring to managing someone else’s affairs. The duty of obedience requires the representative to stay within the authority they were actually granted. An agent with a limited power of attorney to sell a car cannot use that document to refinance the principal’s house.
When a representative breaches these duties, courts can void the actions taken, remove the representative from the role, and order personal compensation for any losses. In severe cases involving theft or fraud, criminal liability enters the picture as well. The title opens doors, but it also carries weight.