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104-572: The Bell Telephone Company was the initial corporate entity from which the Bell System originated to build a continental conglomerate and monopoly in telecommunication services in the United States and Canada. The company was organized in Boston , Massachusetts , on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell 's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard . A common law joint-stock company ,

208-637: A single share of the American Bell Telephone Company, and still later into two shares of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. AT&T President Frederick Fish later returned Bell's single American Bell Telephone Company share to him as a memento after it had been converted and canceled. Of the Bell Company's original shareholders, Thomas Watson resigned his position in 1881 with his shares making him

312-454: A Colorado gold mine. He also remained a confidant of Bell, who later helped ensure the welfare of Sanders' deaf son in his adulthood. Hubbard was satisfied to leave the head of the Bell Company to another major investor, William Forbes, who was brought into the company as its president and as a member of its board of directors in late 1878. Under Forbes' leadership, a new executive committee was created at its corporate level to reorganize and run

416-484: A Continuing Power of Attorney for Property (CPOA), and a non-continuing Power of Attorney. The attorney's authority can be limited or broad, and can take effect immediately or only in certain circumstances (such as the grantor becoming mentally incapable). The grantor can also revoke or cancel the Power of Attorney at any time while they still have capacity. One can make a power of attorney document oneself for free using

520-556: A central figure in its rapid growth and commercial success. The National Bell Telephone Company merged with American Speaking Telephone Company on March 20, 1880, to form the American Bell Telephone Company , also of Boston, Massachusetts. The American Bell Telephone Company evolved into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), one of the largest telecommunications companies in

624-616: A close friend - could apply to make decisions for you in these matters. The government, through the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT), acts only in situations where it is legally required and where no other suitable person is available, able and willing. In English law, applying in England and Wales, anyone with capacity can grant a power of attorney. These can be general (i.e. to do anything which can legally be done by

728-427: A continent-wide telephone system. On December 30, 1899, the assets of American Bell were transferred into its subsidiary American Telephone and Telegraph Company (formerly only the long lines company); this was because Massachusetts corporate laws were very restrictive, and limited capitalization to $ 10 million, forestalling American Bell's further growth. With this assets transfer on December 30, 1899, AT&T became

832-530: A contract to buy or sell an interest in land, as this has to be done on a public register. A power of attorney must also be dated, pursuant to article 186 of the Russian Civil Code. Any POA without an express date of execution is void. A power of attorney cannot be irrevocable. The grantor may terminate the POA at any time, at his or her sole discretion. Any waiver of this right is void, as provided by

936-473: A durable power of attorney, the authority of the attorney-in-fact to act and/or make decisions on behalf of the grantor continues until the grantor's death. In some jurisdictions, a durable power of attorney can also be a "health care power of attorney." This particular affidavit gives the attorney-in-fact the authority to make health-care decisions for the grantor, up to and including terminating care and life support. The grantor can typically modify or restrict

1040-615: A lawyer and Bell's future father-in-law; Thomas Sanders, the well-to-do leather merchant father of one of Bell's deaf students (and who was the first to enter into an agreement with Bell); and finally by Alexander Graham Bell. Hubbard later registered some of his shares with two other family members. An approximate 10% interest of the patent association was later assigned by its principals to Bell's technical assistant Thomas Watson, in lieu of salary and for his earlier financial support to Bell while they worked together creating their first functional telephones. The verbal patent association agreement

1144-411: A legally enforceable document, at a minimum it must be signed and dated by the principal. Some jurisdictions also require that a power of attorney be witnessed, notarized, or both. Even when not required, having the document reviewed and signed (and often stamped) by a notary public may increase the likelihood of withstanding a legal challenge. If the attorney-in-fact is being paid to act on behalf of

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1248-401: A message. The Bell Telephone Memorial's grandeur has been described as the finest example of Allward's early work, propelling the sculptor to fame. The memorial itself has been used as a central fixture for many civic events and remains an important part of Brantford's history, helping the city of Brantford to style itself as 'The Telephone City'. The Bell Memorial Association also purchased

1352-564: A millionaire, thereafter living a colorful life as a Shakespearean actor and later as a shipyard owner and ship builder—always retaining his friendship with Bell. Thomas Sanders, whose entire personal fortune was virtually depleted during the Bell Telephone's first formative years (until a historic settlement was reached with Bell's fierce competitor Western Union on November 10, 1879), quickly sold his Bell shares for almost $ 1,000,000 but then lost most of his wealth with an investment in

1456-522: A person's health care and medical wishes but does not appoint another person to make health care decisions. Depending upon the jurisdiction, a health care power of attorney may or may not appear with an advance health care directive in a single, physical document. For example, the California legislature has adopted a standard power of attorney for health care and advance health care directive form that meets all of that state's legal wording requirements for

1560-479: A post- World War II reconstruction relationship with state-owned Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) before the 1956 boundaries were emplaced. Before 1956, the Bell System's reach was truly gargantuan. Even during the period from 1956 to 1984, the Bell System's dominant reach into all forms of communications was pervasive within the United States and influential in telecommunication standardization throughout

1664-469: A power of attorney and advance health care directive in a single document. By comparison, New York enacted a Health Care Proxy law that requires a separate document to appoint someone as one's health care agent. In some U.S. states and other jurisdictions, it is possible to grant a springing power of attorney ; i.e., a power that takes effect only after the incapacity of the grantor or some other definite future act or circumstance. After such incapacitation

1768-559: A power of attorney still had to be signed by hand by all persons involved, in the right order, and witnessed directly, although possibly through a window or outdoors. In Irish law there are two types of power of attorney: The death of the donor ends both. The relevant legislation is the Powers of Attorney Act 1996 and the Enduring Powers of Attorney Regulations 1996 (SI No. 196/1996) as amended by SI No. 287/1996. Part 7 of

1872-436: A power, if, for example, because of physical injury or mental illness . If the grantor (or principal) specifies that the power of attorney will continue to be effective (endure) even if the grantor becomes incapacitated, this type of power of attorney is called "power of attorney with durable provisions" in the United States or " enduring power of attorney ", "lasting" or "continuing" power of attorney elsewhere. In effect, under

1976-404: A result of this vertical monopoly , the Bell System effectively owned most telephone service in the United States by 1940, from local and long-distance service to the telephones. This allowed Bell to prohibit its customers from connecting equipment not made or sold by Bell to the system without paying fees. For example, if a customer desired a style of telephone not leased by the local Bell company,

2080-401: A single Bell System trademark. For each regional operating company, its name was placed where "name of associated company" appears in this template version of the trademark. Bell system telephones and related equipment were made by Western Electric , a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Co. Member telephone companies paid a fixed fraction of their revenues as a license fee to Bell Labs . As

2184-601: A term that referred generally to all AT&T companies, of which there were five major divisions: In 1913, the federal government challenged the Bell System's growing monopoly over the phone system under AT&T ownership in an anti-trust suit, leading to the Kingsbury Commitment . Under the commitment, AT&T escaped break-up or nationalization in exchange for divesting itself of Western Union and allowing non-competing independent telephone companies to interconnect with its long-distance network. After 1934,

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2288-520: A web tool created by Community Legal Education Ontario or have a lawyer do it. It is important to note that the Power of Attorney must be in writing, signed by the grantor, and witnessed by someone other than the attorney. If one doesn’t make a Power of Attorney, the government will not automatically step in if one can’t manage own affairs. In these circumstances a family member has the right to make your health care decisions or apply to become your “guardian” of property. Alternatively, someone else – such as

2392-422: Is a principle of law that requires an authorization for someone performing certain acts for another person to have been appointed with the same formality as required for the act the representative is going to perform. This means, for example, that if a principal authorizes someone to sell the principal's house or other real property, and the law requires a contract for the sale of real property to be in writing (which

2496-409: Is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person authorizing the other to act is the principal , grantor , or donor (of the power). The one authorized to act is the agent , attorney, or in some common law jurisdictions, the attorney-in-fact . Formerly,

2600-563: Is also possible to have a Combined Power of attorney which allows both the personal care and property management decisions to be taken by the attorney. It is important to note that that the laws and regulations for Power of attorney vary by province or territory and the specific requirements for each type of Power of attorney may vary. In Ontario, a Power of Attorney for Property allows a person (the "grantor") to appoint another person (the "attorney") to make financial and property decisions on their behalf. This Power of Attorney for Property includes

2704-506: Is one that is limited to a specified act or type of act. A general power of attorney is one that allows the agent to make all personal and business decisions A temporary power of attorney is one with a limited time frame. If ever required, a durable power of attorney can be revoked or changed as long as the principal is still mentally competent to act. Under the common law, a simple power of attorney becomes ineffective if its grantor dies or becomes "incapacitated," meaning unable to grant such

2808-471: Is required under the Statute of Frauds in most U.S. jurisdictions), then the authorization for the other person to sign the sales contract and deed must be in writing too. Likewise, in common-law jurisdictions other than the U.S., a power of an attorney to execute a deed (i.e. instrument under seal or executed in presence of two witnesses) must be itself executed as a deed. For a power of attorney to become

2912-422: Is used in many jurisdictions instead of the term agent . That term should be distinguished from the term attorney-at-law . In the United States, an attorney-at-law is a solicitor who is also licensed to be an advocate in a particular jurisdiction. An attorney-in-fact may be a layperson and is authorized to act pursuant to the powers granted by a power of attorney but may not engage in acts that would constitute

3016-492: The Baby Bells and do not provide telephone service. Beginning in 1991, the Baby Bells began to consolidate operations or rename their Bell Operating Companies according to the parent company name, such as "Bell Atlantic – Delaware, Inc." or "U S WEST Communications, Inc.", to unify their corporate images. The Bell System service marks, including the circled-bell logo, especially as redesigned by Saul Bass in 1969, and

3120-583: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assumed regulation of AT&T. Proliferation of telephone service allowed the company to become the largest corporation in the world until its dismantling by the United States Department of Justice in 1984, at which time the Bell System ceased to exist. Receiving a U.S. patent for the invention of the telephone on March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell formed

3224-739: The International Bell Telephone Company (IBTC) as a holding company for its international subsidiaries. IBTC's first non-North American subsidiary was the Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company (BTM), established by Hubbard at Antwerp , Belgium, in 1882. The Bell System's Bell Telephone Company of Canada subsidiary, wholly owned by the National Bell, had been established two years earlier. Alexander Graham Bell's ten shares of Bell Telephone Company stock were later converted into

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3328-530: The International Bell Telephone Company in order to promote sales of its telephone equipment throughout Europe. During his tour of the continent, the Belgian government offered him the greatest financial incentives to establish his European subsidiary's headquarters in their country. The International Bell Telephone Company (IBTC) shortly evolved into a holding company for its various telephone service and production divisions, with its major manufacturing arm being

3432-574: The International Telephone & Telegraph Company (IT&T, unaffiliated with AT&T) of Cuba , at the start of that company's meteoric rise in the international telecommunications industry . By 1881, American Bell had acquired a controlling interest in the Western Electric Company from Western Union . Only three years earlier, Western Union had turned down Gardiner Hubbard's offer to sell it all rights to

3536-533: The Mental Capacity Act 2005 . It replaces the former enduring power of attorney , although enduring powers correctly made before the law changed remain valid. Enduring powers were very different, as they only needed to be registered if the donor later lost capacity. The OPG provides an online process for registering a lasting power of attorney. Many of the provisions in American law, described in

3640-648: The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company , the first local operating company to offer service using Bell's telephone. Bell Telephone and New England Telephone merged on February 17, 1879, to form two new entities, the National Bell Telephone Company of Boston, and the International Bell Telephone Company . International Bell became headquartered in Brussels , Belgium. Theodore Vail took over its operations, becoming

3744-507: The post-World War II occupation was considered an administrative adjunct to the North American Bell System. Immediately before the 1984 break-up, the Bell System had the following corporate structure : On January 1, 1984, the former components of the Bell System were structured into the following Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), which became known as Baby Bells. After 1984, multiple mergers occurred of

3848-618: The 50-person delegation of judges, scientists, reporters and other officials arrived at the Department of Education. Tired and hungry, they hardly looked at the telephone, made some jokes at Bell's expense, and wanted to leave the exhibition quickly when suddenly, Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil from 1840 to 1889, with his wife Empress Theresa and a bevy of courtiers, entered the room. Dom Pedro recognized Bell and exclaimed "Professor Bell, I am delighted to see you again!" The judges at once forgot their tiredness and wondered who this young inventor

3952-537: The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides for new arrangements for those who wish to make an Enduring Power of Attorney and once the 2015 Act is brought into force, no new powers of attorney will be created under the 1996 Act. A solicitor is not required to create a Power of Attorney - it is created simply by being signed by the donor, in the presence of (and countersigned by) a witness. Creating an Enduring Power of Attorney requires

4056-636: The Bell System of abusing its monopoly power, and had brought legal action multiple times over the decades. In 1974 the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice brought a lawsuit against Bell claiming violations of the Sherman Act . In 1982, anticipating that it could not win, AT&T agreed to a Justice Department-mandated consent decree that settled the lawsuit and ordered it to break itself up into seven " Regional Bell Operating Companies " (known as "The Baby Bells"). This ended

4160-488: The Bell System's Caribbean regional operating companies. The consent decree also forced Bell to make all of its patents royalty-free . This led to substantial increases in innovation, in particular in the electronics and computer sectors. Steven Weber 's The Success of Open Source characterizes the consent decree as important in fostering the open source movement. The Bell System also owned various Caribbean regional operating companies, as well as 54% of Japan's NEC and

4264-533: The Bell Telephone Company in 1877, which in 1885 became AT&T. When Bell's original patent expired 15 years later in 1894, the telephone market opened to competition and 6,000 new telephone companies started while the Bell Telephone company took a significant financial downturn. On April 30, 1907, Theodore Newton Vail returned as President of AT&T. Vail believed in the superiority of one national telephone system and AT&T adopted

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4368-421: The Bell Telephone Company was started on the basis of holding "potentially valuable patents ", principally Bell's master telephone patent #174465. Upon inception, Hubbard was installed as trustee, although he was additionally the company's de facto president, since he also controlled his daughter's shares by power of attorney . Thomas Sanders, its principal financial backer, was treasurer. Hubbard also organize

4472-633: The Bell Telephone Manufacturing Company (BTMC), which was founded in Antwerp , Belgium, on 26 April 1882. BTMC was created as a joint venture by the International Bell Telephone Company of New York and the Western Electric Company of Chicago, Illinois. BTMC then established la Compagnie Belge du Téléphone Bell ( Bell Telephone Company of Belgium ) in the same year as its Belgian operating subsidiary for telephone service, one of several companies that provided such service in

4576-572: The Bell family's former farmhouse, Melville House, and its orchard at Tutela Heights, opening it as a museum to the family and to the invention of the telephone. In 1996, it was declared a historic landmark, and is now known as the Bell Homestead National Historic Site. Footnotes Citations Bibliography Bell System Beginning in the 1910s, American antitrust regulators had been observing and accusing

4680-438: The Bell name and the circled-bell trademark until SBC opted for all of its companies to do business under the "SBC" name in 2002. Bell Atlantic used the Bell name and circled-bell trademark until renaming itself Verizon in 2000. Pacific Bell continued operating in California under that name (or the shortened "PacBell" nickname) until SBC purchased it. In Canada, Bell Canada ( divested from AT&T in 1975) continues to use

4784-470: The Bell name. For the decades that Nortel was named Northern Telecom, its research and development arm was Bell Northern Research. Bell Canada and its holding-company parent, Bell Canada Enterprises , still use the Bell name. They used variations of the circled-bell logo until 1977, which until 1976 strongly resembled the 1921 to 1939 Bell System trademark shown above. Power of attorney A power of attorney ( POA ) or letter of attorney

4888-554: The Committee of Electrical Awards, which voted Bell the gold medal for Electrical Equipment, helping to propel him to international fame. Bell also won a second gold medal for his additional display at the exposition, Visible Speech —developed earlier by his equally famous father Alexander Melville Bell . Pivotally, late in the evening moments after the main group of tired judges and newspaper reporters had quickly looked over and derided Bell's telephone display, Emperor Dom Pedro, who

4992-525: The DOJ had agreed upon in 1956. Before the 1956 break-up, the Bell System included the companies listed below, plus those listed in the pre-1984 section. Northern Electric and the Caribbean regional operating companies were considered part of the Bell System proper before the break-up. Nippon Electric was considered a more distant affiliate of Western Electric, and through its own research and development adapted

5096-656: The Department of Justice in 1913. AT&T committed to sell its $ 30 million in Western Union capital stock, allow competitors to interconnect with its long-distance telephone network, and not acquire other independent companies without permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission . The Bell trademark was used from 1921 through 1969 by both the AT&;T corporation and the regional operating corporations to co-brand themselves under

5200-486: The Gordon McKay Company based on the numbers of shoes produced. Hubbard insisted that leasing was the better option, even if it significantly raised the need for initial capital expenses. Sanders for his part, a wealthy leather merchant, provided most of the financing for both Bell's research and the young company, eventually amounting to expenditures of some $ 110,000 "before he received any reimbursement" by

5304-511: The Northwestern Bell name. In 1984, each regional Bell operating company was assigned a set list of names it was allowed to use in combination with the Bell marks. By 2022, all these Bell System names had disappeared from the United States business landscape. Cincinnati Bell was the last to use the name, until 2022 when it rebranded to Altafiber , though it still has Cincinnati Bell as its corporate name. Southwestern Bell used both

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5408-404: The agent deals with. For example, if a bank has regulations that require the grantor to be physically present in the bank to perform certain actions, the POA cannot grant the agent power to perform those actions in the absence of the grantor. Robert's Rules of Order notes that proxy voting involves granting a power of attorney. The term "proxy" refers to both the power of attorney itself and

5512-547: The assets of its parent, the American Bell Telephone Company. American Bell had created AT&T to provide long-distance calls between New York and Chicago and beyond. AT&T became the parent of American Bell Telephone Company, and thus the head of the Bell System, because regulatory and tax rules were leaner in New York than in Boston, where American Bell was headquartered. Later, the Bell System and its moniker "Ma Bell" became

5616-471: The capacity to execute a power of attorney even if they do not have the capacity to make the decisions that they are delegating. If a person without a durable power in place does not have the capacity to execute a power of attorney, the only way for another party to act on their behalf may be to have a court impose a conservatorship or a guardianship . Depending on the jurisdiction, a power of attorney may be oral and, whether witnessed, will hold up in court,

5720-427: The close of 1899, the American Bell Telephone Company was acquired, for business purposes, by its own subsidiary, the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), which then became the head of the monolithic and monopolistic Bell System . Significant criticism of AT&T (a monopoly) had emerged in the United States that domestic telephone system rates were higher than they needed to be, and that AT&T

5824-581: The close of 1935. Alexander Graham Bell's fiancée Mabel Hubbard was the indirect source of the Bell Telephone Company's early commercial success after his creation of the telephone. The U.S. Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 brought Bell's newly invented telephone international attention. Exhibition judges Emperor Dom Pedro II of the Empire of Brazil and the eminent British physicist William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) recommended his device to

5928-402: The company's formation, on July 11, 1877, Bell married Hubbard's daughter Mabel Gardiner Hubbard , and made a wedding gift of 1,487 shares of his allotment to his new wife, keeping only 10 shares for himself. Bell and his wife left not long after for a tour of Europe that lasted over a year, during which time Mabel left her shares with her father under a power of attorney , allowing him to become

6032-406: The country, the others having evolved principally from telegraph carriers. BTMC eventually came under complete ownership by Western Electric, and also established other divisions as national companies across Continental Europe and Russia. Western Electric was itself later majority owned by the American Bell Telephone Company , returning indirect control of BTMC back to the Bell organization. At

6136-401: The crowd of judges and press members became energized and vied to take turns communicating with Bell over his invention. Bell, who was then a full-time teacher, had not planned to exhibit at the fair because of his heavy teaching schedule and preparation for his student's examinations. He went to Philadelphia only at the stern insistence of Mabel Hubbard, his then-fiancée and future wife and who

6240-445: The customer was required to purchase the instrument at cost, furnish it to the telephone company for rewiring, pay a service charge, and a monthly lease fee for using it. In 1949, the United States Department of Justice alleged in an antitrust lawsuit that AT&T and the Bell System operating companies were using their near-monopoly in telecommunications to attempt to establish unfair advantage in related technologies. The outcome

6344-535: The designs of Western Electric's North American telecommunications equipment for use in Japan, which to this day gives much of Japan's telephone equipment and network a closer resemblance to North American ANSI and iconectiv standards than to European-originated ITU-T standards. Before the 1956 break-up, Northern Electric was focused on manufacturing, without significant telecommunication-equipment research & development of its own. The operation of Japan's NTT during

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6448-463: The donor become incapacitated a normal power of attorney can no longer be used. To provide for such cases a lasting power of attorney must be created. This is a separate and quite different type of power, which must be in a prescribed form, signed and witnessed in a prescribed order, and registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This type of power of attorney was introduced in 2007 under

6552-465: The donor in relation to their money or assets), or can relate to a specific act only (e.g. to sell freehold property), and are governed by the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. An ordinary power of attorney is only valid for so long as the donor has the mental capacity to ratify the attorney's actions. There are also powers of attorney for trustees, governed by section 25 of the Trustee Act 1925 . If

6656-658: The emperor's friend had invented." "The centerpiece of the emperor's trip was the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. There, Dom Pedro II sought out a young, relatively obscure teacher at the School of the Deaf named Alexander Graham Bell, with whom he had exchanged letters." Startled by the emperor's enthusiastic response to Bell's telephone demonstration—during which the emperor exclaimed "My God! It talks!",

6760-463: The exhibits. Few paid much attention to Bell, tinkering with his crude instruments. At last the party approached his booth. Among them was Dom Pedro de Alcantara, the Emperor of Brazil. He had met Bell a few weeks previously in Boston and spoke to him as an old friend." "Dom Pedro had met Alec at a school for the deaf in Boston. When the emperor greeted Alec, the judges took note. They wanted to see what

6864-820: The existence of the conglomerate in 1984. The Baby Bells became independent companies and several of them are large corporations today. In 1877, the American Bell Telephone Company, named after Alexander Graham Bell , opened the first telephone exchange in New Haven, Connecticut . Within a few years local exchange companies were established in every major city in the United States. Use of the Bell System name initially referred to those early telephone franchises and eventually comprised all telephone companies owned by American Telephone & Telegraph , referred to internally as associated companies , regional holding companies , or later Bell operating companies (BOCs). In 1899, American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) acquired

6968-476: The following: The courts play a general supervisory role in the implementation of the power. Under Russian law, in article 185 of the Russian Civil Code , a power of attorney can be created by being signed by the donor. Creation of the power of attorney must be witnessed, e.g. countersigned by a public notary. Notarial witnessing is mandatory if the power of attorney is made in order to enter into

7072-552: The grantor may revoke the power of attorney by telling the attorney-in-fact it is revoked. However, if the principal does not inform third parties and it is reasonable for the third parties to rely upon the power of attorney being in force, the principal might still be bound by the acts of the agent, though the agent may also be liable for such unauthorized acts. Standardized forms are available for various kinds of powers of attorney, and many organizations provide them for their clients, customers, patients, employees, or members. However,

7176-480: The grantor or donor in different jurisdictions, can only create a power of attorney if they have the requisite mental capacity. In some powers of attorney the grantor states that they wish the document to remain in effect even after they become incapacitated, creating a durable or lasting power of attorney . If someone is already incapacitated, it is not possible for that person to execute a valid power, although in some jurisdictions, it may be possible for someone to have

7280-483: The grantor should exercise caution when using a standardized POA form obtained from a source other than a lawyer because there is considerable variation in approved formats among the states. In some jurisdictions statutory power of attorney forms are available. Although a power of attorney grants the agent powers to perform acts in the absence of the grantor, the POA cannot grant powers to the agent that conflict with rules and regulations governing people and companies that

7384-438: The industrialized world. The 1984 Bell System divestiture brought an end to the affiliation branded as the Bell System. It resulted from another antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1974, alleging illegal practices by the Bell System companies to stifle competition in the telecommunications industry. The parties settled the lawsuit on January 8, 1982, superseding the former restrictions that AT&T and

7488-414: The main section where the allegorical figures of Inspiration appears over a reclining male figure representing Man, the inventor , and also pointing to the floating figures of Knowledge , Joy , and Sorrow , positioned at the other end of the tableau. At each end of the memorial there are two female figures mounted on granite pedestals representing Humanity , one sending and the other receiving

7592-621: The management of American Bell had created what would become AT&T Long Lines . The project was the first of its kind to create a nationwide long-distance network with a commercially viable cost-structure. The project was incorporated in New York State as a separate company named American Telephone and Telegraph Company on March 3, 1885. Starting from New York City, its long-distance telephone network reached Chicago, Illinois, in 1892, with its multitudes of local exchanges continuing to stretch further and further yearly, eventually creating

7696-477: The marks on rare occasions to maintain their trademark rights, even less now that they have adopted names conceived long after divestiture. Examples include Verizon, which still used the Bell logo on its trucks and payphones until it updated its own logo in 2015, and Qwest, formerly US West , which licenses the Northwestern Bell and Mountain Bell names to Unical Enterprises, who makes telephones under

7800-610: The new company's de facto president. Both Hubbard's and Sanders' roles in the newly born company were pivotal to its early survival and its eventual growth to become a corporate giant. Hubbard's very early structuring of its telephone service by leasing, instead of selling telephones, was critical to its success. He based his decision on the previous legal work he performed for the Gordon McKay Shoe Machinery Company, where its shoe sewing machines were leased, not sold, and royalties also had to be paid to

7904-416: The operating companies and between them, so that some components of the former Bell System are now owned by companies independent of the historic Bell System, including foreign telecommunications firms. The structure of the companies today is as follows. The following telephone companies are considered independent of the Baby Bells : The following companies were divested after 1984 from AT&T Corp. or

8008-534: The overall company with professional management. The company was also recapitalized, with Vail continuing as its head of operations. After leaving the offices of what became the American Bell Telephone Company, Hubbard created the National Geographic Society as its president, with Bell succeeding him the next year. Ownership of American Bell was transferred to its own subsidiary, American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T Company) on

8112-640: The parent of both American Bell and the Bell System . John Elbridge Hudson joined Bell Telephone as counsel in 1880 and served as president from 1889 to 1900. In 1906 the citizens of the City of Brantford , Ontario, Canada and its surrounding area formed the Bell Memorial Association to commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in July 1874 at his parents' home, Melville House, near Brantford. Walter Allward 's design

8216-478: The person to whom it is granted. In financial situations wherein a principal requests a securities broker to perform extensive investment functions on the principal's behalf, independent of the principal's advice, power of attorney must be formally granted to the broker to trade in the principal's account. This rule also applies to principals who instruct their brokers to perform certain specific trades and principals who trust their brokers to perform certain trades in

8320-476: The power is identical to a durable power, but cannot be invoked before the incapacity. This power may be used to allow a spouse or family member to manage the grantor's affairs in case illness or injury makes the grantor unable to act. If a springing power is used, the grantor should specify exactly how and when the power springs into effect. As the result of privacy legislation in the U.S. , medical doctors will often not reveal information relating to capacity of

8424-406: The powers of the agent to make end-of-life decisions. In many jurisdictions a health care power of attorney is also referred to as a " health care proxy " and, as such, the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Related to the health care power of attorney is a separate document known as an advance health care directive , also called a "living will". A living will is a written statement of

8528-449: The principal unless the power of attorney specifically authorizes them to do so. Determining whether the principal is "disabled" enough to initiate this type of representation is a formal process. Springing powers of attorney are not automatic, and institutions may refuse to work with the attorney-in-fact. Disputes are then resolved in court. Unless the power of attorney has been made irrevocable by its own terms or by some legal principle,

8632-493: The principal's best interest. In Australia, anyone with capacity can grant a power of attorney. This can be done either for a pre-defined period of time, or in perpetuity ("enduring"). The power of attorney can be granted to one individual, or to multiple individuals. When granted to multiple individuals, they may be authorised either to act jointly (all together) or to act severally (each can act individually). In Canada, there are generally two types of Power of Attorney: It

8736-448: The principal, a contract for payment may be separate from the document granting power of attorney. If that separate contract is in writing, as a separate document it may be kept private between the principal and agent even when the power of attorney is presented to others for the purposes of carrying out the agent's duties. A power of attorney may be: special (also called limited ), general , or temporary . A special power of attorney

8840-524: The sale of his shares. Not long after the National Bell Telephone Company was established, it required substantial new capital in order to maintain its majority share ownership of its affiliate telephone companies and to provide further funds for expansion of its overall telephone infrastructure. On April 17, 1880, National Bell was split into the American Bell Telephone Company, led by Theodore Vail as general manager, and with

8944-513: The same as if it were in writing. For some purposes, the law requires a power of attorney to be in writing. Many institutions, such as hospitals , banks and, in the United States, the Internal Revenue Service , require a power of attorney to be in writing before they will honor it, and they will usually keep a duplicate original or a copy for their records. Nursing homes often follow the same practice. The equal dignity rule

9048-421: The second to last day of 1899. AT&T had been incorporated on April 17, 1880, as American Bell's " long lines " division to handle its long-distance telecommunications. On January 1, 1900, AT&T, a publicly traded corporation, owned the major assets of American Bell and thus became the head of the Bell System . By December 31, 1900, it had 569,901 shares of stock outstanding, which rose to 18,662,275 shares at

9152-647: The sections above, use terminology having different meaning from both common British usage and from the terms used in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Examples are 'enduring power of attorney', 'advance directive', and 'notary public': in English law, these terms do not have the same meaning as they have in America. During the coronavirus pandemic that started in 2019 , England and Wales permitted documents such as wills to be witnessed via video link; however,

9256-489: The slogan One Policy, One System, Universal Service. This became the company's philosophy for the next 70 years. Under Vail, AT&T began acquiring many of the smaller telephone companies including the Western Union Telegraph Company . In response to the threat of antitrust action from government, AT&T entered into an out-of-court agreement, known as the Kingsbury Commitment with

9360-463: The telephone for US$ 100,000 (approximately $ 3.16 million in current dollars). In only a few years, Western Union's president would acknowledge that it was a serious business error, one that later nearly led to his company being swallowed up by the newly emerging telecommunications giant into which Bell Telephone would shortly evolve. Western Union was saved from demise only by the U.S. Government's anti-monopoly interventions . A year earlier in 1880

9464-424: The term agent . As an agent, an attorney-in-fact is a fiduciary for the principal, so the law requires an attorney-in-fact to be completely honest with and loyal to the principal in their dealings with each other. An attorney has power to act on behalf of the person; this power can be misused, for example, to steal the assets of a person who may be vulnerable (e.g. elder abuse ) or absent. A person, known as

9568-425: The term "power" referred to an instrument signed under seal while a "letter" was an instrument under hand, meaning that it was simply signed by the parties, but today a power of attorney does not need to be signed under seal. Some jurisdictions require that powers of attorney be notarized or witnessed , but others will enforce a power of attorney as long as it is signed by the grantor. The term attorney-in-fact

9672-433: The unauthorized practice of law. In the context of the unincorporated reciprocal inter-insurance exchange (URIE) the attorney-in-fact is a stakeholder/trustee who takes custody of the subscriber funds placed on deposit with him, and then uses those funds to pay insurance claims. When all the claims are paid, the attorney-in-fact then returns the leftover funds to the subscribers. The Uniform Power of Attorney Act employs

9776-414: The various resulting 1984 spinoffs, only BellSouth actively used and promoted the Bell name and logo during its entire history, from the 1984 break-up to its reunion with the new AT&T in 2006. Similarly, cessation of using either the Bell name or logo occurred for many of the other companies more than a decade after the 1984 break-up as part of an acquisition-related rebranding. The others have only used

9880-500: The words Bell System in text, were used before January 1, 1984, when the AT&;T divestiture of its regional operating companies took effect. The word mark Bell , the logo, and other related trademarks, are held by each of the remaining Bell companies, namely AT&T, Verizon , CenturyLink , and Altafiber . International rights to the marks, except for Canada , are held by a joint venture of these companies, Bell IP Holdings . Of

9984-415: The world. The Bell Patent Association (February 27, 1875 – July 9, 1877, a name later assigned by historians), was not a corporate entity but a trusteeship and a partnership . It was established verbally in 1874 to be the holders of the patents produced by Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Thomas Watson . Approximately one-third of these interests were at first held by Gardiner Greene Hubbard ,

10088-848: Was a 1956 consent decree limiting AT&T to 85% of the United States' national telephone network and certain government contracts, and from continuing to hold interests in Canada and the Caribbean . The Bell System's Canadian operations included the Bell Canada regional operating company and the Northern Electric manufacturing subsidiary of the Bell System's Western Electric equipment manufacturer. Western Electric divested Northern Electric in 1956, but AT&T did not divest itself of Bell Canada until 1975. ITT Inc. , then known as International Telephone & Telegraph Co. , purchased

10192-491: Was an expert multilingual lip reader , deaf since age five. Mabel had understood Bell's reluctance to go to the exhibition and display his works, so she secretly bought his train ticket to Philadelphia, packed his bag, and then took the unknowing Bell to Boston's train station, where she told her shocked fiancé that he was going on a trip. When Bell started arguing, Mabel turned her sight away from him and became literally deaf to his protests. In 1879 Gardiner Hubbard founded

10296-520: Was formalized in a memorandum of agreement on February 27, 1875. The patent association's assets became the foundational assets of the Bell Telephone Company. At the time of the organization of the Bell Telephone Company as an association (also known as the Bell Company), on July 9, 1877, as a joint stock company in 1877 by Hubbard, who soon became its trustee and de facto president, 5,000 shares in total were issued to: The Bell Telephone Company

10400-742: Was incorporated in Massachusetts on July 30, 1878, with 4,500 shares of stock. It then merged with the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company (incorporated on February 12, 1878) to form the National Bell Telephone Company (incorporated on March 13, 1879, with 7,280 shares, later increased to 8,500 shares in May 1880). A little over a year later it was reorganized to become the American Bell Telephone Company (incorporated on April 17, 1880, with 73,500 shares, which included 14,000 trustee shares held by National Bell Telephone). American Bell's outstanding stock rose to 258,863 shares by May 1900. Two days after

10504-411: Was straggling, entered the fair's Education Building where Bell's two displays were located. As the main group started moving on to the next exhibit to be reviewed, Dom Pedro came upon the displays and called out to Bell in his booming voice: "What are you doing here?" The emperor had met Bell before in Boston while visiting schools for the deaf in the United States. "....it was around seven o'clock when

10608-436: Was the unanimous choice from among 10 submitted models, winning the competition. The memorial was planned to be completed by 1912 but Allward did not finish it until five years later. The Governor General of Canada , Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , ceremoniously unveiled the memorial on 24 October 1917. Allward designed the monument to symbolize the telephone's ability to overcome distances. A series of steps lead to

10712-508: Was using those revenues to subsidize its European operations. Due to that reason and others, and also due to the U.S. Government's regulatory intervention, AT&T president Walter Gifford divested almost all of its international interests in 1925, with the exceptions of the Bell Telephone Company of Canada (now called Bell Canada ), and Northern Electric (now called Nortel ). In 1925, the European division and its subsidiaries were sold to

10816-480: Was who was a friend of an emperor. Dom Pedro had once visited Bell's class of deaf-mutes at Boston University and initiated the first Brazilian school for deaf-mutes in Rio de Janeiro.".... ....The judges stayed the next three hours with Bell. Bell's telephone became the star of the centennial...." "On a hot Sunday afternoon, June 25th, Sir William Thompson (later Lord Kelvin) and many other distinguished guests inspected

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