Colorado Durable Power of Attorney

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A durable power of attorney hands decision-making power to someone you choose. That person, your agent or attorney-in-fact, manages your money, property, and business dealings. The word durable means the authority does not lapse if you later lose capacity, which is the situation most people are planning for.

2. 2

   Colorado is a durable-by-default state. C.R.S. 15-14-704 keeps any power of attorney signed on or after January 1, 2010 alive through the principal's incapacity, and the only way to switch that off is to write in a clause ending it at incapacity. That inverts the rule in states where you must add durable wording to survive incapacity, so in Colorado no magic words are needed.

3. 3

   Your signature is the only signature the statute demands. C.R.S. 15-14-705 makes the document valid once you sign it, or once someone signs for you in your presence and at your instruction if you cannot hold the pen. Colorado law lists no witness requirement for a financial power of attorney.

4. 4

   A notary is optional but worth it. Colorado does not condition validity on notarization, yet C.R.S. 15-14-705 gives a signature acknowledged before a notary public a presumption of genuineness, and any power of attorney headed for the real-property records has to be notarized first.

5. 5

   Colorado gives you a ready-made form. The optional statutory form at C.R.S. 15-14-741 covers financial and property authority only. Filling it out is not mandatory, but a document that substantially complies carries the meaning and effect the Uniform Power of Attorney Act assigns.

6. 6

   A handful of powers must be spelled out. Under C.R.S. 15-14-724, an agent can create or amend a trust, make gifts, alter survivorship rights or a beneficiary designation, delegate authority, or disclaim property only when your document names that specific authority. Leaving them unlisted keeps them out of your agent's reach.

7. 7

   Real estate work means a trip to the county clerk and recorder. Recording is optional for validity, but C.R.S. 38-35-109 lets a power of attorney that touches title to real property be entered in the records of the county clerk and recorder for the county where the land sits, and it must be notarized to qualify for recording.

Colorado Requirements for Durable Power of Attorney

• Sign It; No Witnesses Required

  Under C.R.S. 15-14-705, a Colorado power of attorney must be signed by you, or by another individual in your conscious presence at your direction. No witnesses are required by statute for a financial power of attorney.

• Notarize for a Presumption of Genuineness

  Notarization is not required for validity, but under C.R.S. 15-14-705 a signature acknowledged before a notary public is presumed genuine. Notarizing is practically necessary for any power of attorney you plan to record for real estate.

• Durable by Default

  Colorado makes a power of attorney durable by default. Under C.R.S. 15-14-704, a power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2010 survives your incapacity unless it expressly provides that it terminates on incapacity. No special durable language is needed. To make it nondurable, the document must say it ends when you become incapacitated.

• Springing Effective Date (Optional)

  If you want the power of attorney to take effect only on a future event such as your incapacity, C.R.S. 15-14-709 provides that it is effective when executed unless you state that it becomes effective at a future date or on a future event or contingency. Name someone to determine when that event has occurred.

• Optional Statutory Short Form (C.R.S. 15-14-741)

  You may use Colorado's optional statutory form power of attorney at C.R.S. 15-14-741. Use is permissive, and a document that substantially complies has the meaning and effect prescribed by the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. It covers financial and property matters only and does not authorize health-care decisions.

• Record It for Real-Property Use

  Recording is permissive, not required to create a valid power of attorney. Under C.R.S. 38-35-109, a power of attorney affecting title to real property may be recorded with the county clerk and recorder where the property is located, and it must be acknowledged before a notary to be recordable.

• Special Powers Need Express Language

  Certain high-risk powers, sometimes called hot powers, are allowed only if your document specifically grants them. Under C.R.S. 15-14-724, your agent may create, amend, revoke, or terminate a trust, make a gift, change rights of survivorship or a beneficiary designation, delegate authority, or disclaim property only when the document expressly says so.

• Revocation

  Under C.R.S. 15-14-710, a Colorado power of attorney terminates when you revoke it or revoke the agent's authority. Put the revocation in writing, notify the agent and any institution relying on the document, and if the power of attorney was recorded, record the revocation too so it gives notice.