What kind of agents are there

If you found this article useful, you might want to take a look at: What does an art agent do? Writing stage. Ready to publish. Areas of interest. Preparing Your Portfolio. Developing your craft. Graphic Novels. Like 0. Facebook share Twitter. Ordinarily, the power of attorney is used for a special purpose—for example, to sell real estate or securities in the absence of the owner.

But a person facing a lengthy operation and recuperation in a hospital might give a general power of attorney to a trusted family member or friend.

The special agent An agent hired by contract to carry out specifically stated activities. Suppose Sam, the seller, appoints an agent Alberta to find a buyer for his property. As a special agent, Alberta had authority only to find a buyer; she had no authority to sign the contract.

The literary agent also acts as a collection agent to ensure that his commission will be paid. By agreeing with the principal that the agency is coupled with an interest, the agent can prevent his own rights in a particular literary work from being terminated to his detriment. To carry out her duties, an agent will often need to appoint her own agents. These appointments may or may not be authorized by the principal. An insurance company, for example, might name a general agent to open offices in cities throughout a certain state.

The agent will necessarily conduct her business through agents of her own choosing. These agents are subagents The agent of an agent. The final category of agent is the servant An employee. Not every contract for services necessarily creates a master-servant relationship. There is an important distinction made between the status of a servant and that of an independent contractor A person who is hired to accomplish a result but is not subject to specific control by the one hiring.

A plumber salaried to a building contractor is an employee and agent of the contractor. If you hire a lawyer to settle a dispute, that person is not your employee or your servant; she is an independent contractor. As a general rule the line of demarcation between an independent contractor and a servant is not clearly drawn.

Flick v. Crouch , P. But payment to an independent contractor, such as the plumber for hire, does not require such withholding. Deciding who is an independent contractor is not always easy; there is no single factor or mechanical answer.

In Robinson v. New York Commodities Corp. Robinson v. The claimant sold canned meats, making rounds in his car from his home. The company did not establish hours for him, did not control his movements in any way, and did not reimburse him for mileage or any other expenses or withhold taxes from its straight commission payments to him.

He reported his taxes on a form for the self-employed and hired an accountant to prepare it for him. The factual situation in each case determines whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Such forms are meaningless if the worker is in fact an employee. Microsoft Corporation , discussed in Section Pro Golf Association , N. The insurance policy in question covered members of the Professional Golfers Association. Bradley Martin, age thirteen, was at the golf course for junior league play.

He can bind the principal by doing anything which Falls within the ordinary scope of that business. Whether he is actually authorised for any particular act or not, is immaterial provided that third party acts bona fide. Thus he occupies the position of a surety it as well as an Agent.

He is not answerable to his principle for the failure of the third person to perform the contract. A del credere agent constituted an exception to this rule. But thereafter when the transaction takes place, he cease to be an agent and assumes towards his constituent the character of a Principal, and the transaction must be regarded as a contract between Principal and Principal.

He is not entrusted with the possession of goods. He simply act as a connecting link and bring it to parties together to bargain and if the circumstances materialise he becomes entitled to his commission called brokerage.

He makes a contract in the name of his Principal. Investors hire stockbrokers to act as middlemen between them and the stock market. Athletes and actors hire agents to negotiate contracts on their behalf because the agents are typically more familiar with industry norms and have a better idea of how to position their clients.

More commonly, prospective homeowners use agents as middlemen, relying on the professional's greater skills at negotiation. Businesses often hire agents to represent them in a particular venture or negotiation, relying on the agents' superior skills, contacts, or background information to complete deals. There is also " agency by necessity ," in which an agent is appointed to act on behalf of a client who is physically or mentally incapable of making a decision.

This is not always a case of incapacitation. Business owners, for example, might designate agents to handle unexpected issues that occur in their absence. For example, if a CEO was on a flight and unreachable yet an emergency business decision needed to be made, agency by necessity could be used.

Agency by necessity is most often executed in times of emergency or urgency when the primary party is not available to make a decision.

In these situations, courts would recognize a third party making the decision if that party was given power by the primary party to do so. The third party would be responsible for acting in the primary party's best interest. Estate planning requires a lot of tax knowledge. Having an agent guide you through the process will be beneficial to ensure your beneficiaries receive the most of their inheritance.

Estate planning often sees agency by necessity. Though an individual may have created a will outlining how an estate should be disbursed at their time of death, there could be situations where the person became incapacitated before needed adjustments to the will were made. Here, agency by necessity could be used by a trusted party. To become an enrolled agent, one needs to pass an IRS test that covers individual and business tax returns or through experience by being a former IRS employee.

Enrolled agents can represent any type of taxpayer over any tax matter in front of any tax department in the IRS. A registered agent is an individual that is authorized to accept legal documents on behalf of a limited liability company LLC. All LLCs require a registered agent and they are legally allowed to accept tax documents, legal documents, government documents, compliance documents, and any other documents pertaining to the LLC.

A registered agent for an LLC is known to be an "agent for service of processes. To become a real estate agent, you need to obtain a real estate agent license. There are a few qualifications for this, and they can vary from state to state. In general, a person needs to be 18 years of age, be a legal resident of the U. Individuals can enroll in relicensing courses before taking the real estate exam.

The first step in becoming an insurance agent is deciding what kind of insurance agent you want to be, as the type depends on the path to becoming one. You can choose to be either a captive insurance agent or an independent insurance agent. From there, you will need to decide what insurance products you would like to sell to clients. The next step is becoming licensed in your state. The products that you decide you would like to sell will depend on the type of license you will need. You will take your licensing exam and from there you will have to submit a background check and license application to your state's licensing department.

Once this is complete, you will need to find an insurance company to work with.