Mississippi Durable Power of Attorney

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A durable power of attorney lets someone act in your place. You name an agent, also called an attorney-in-fact, to manage your money, property, and business dealings. Durable means the document stays in force even after you can no longer make decisions, which is normally the entire reason for signing one.

2. 2

   Mississippi kept the older uniform act. Financial powers of attorney run under the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, Miss. Code Ann. 87-3-101 through 87-3-113. The state passed on the 2006 Uniform Power of Attorney Act; a 2013 measure to adopt it, House Bill 468, died in committee, so Mississippi's rules read differently from many nearby states.

3. 3

   Durability is not automatic in Mississippi. The state will not assume your document survives your incapacity. Miss. Code Ann. Section 87-3-105 ties durability to language, so the writing has to spell out that the agent's authority continues despite your later disability or incapacity. Omit those words and the authority ends the day you lose capacity.

4. 4

   The act sets no witness or notary rule. For validity between you and your agent, the statute demands neither witnesses nor a notary. Notarization still matters in practice: it is what allows a chancery clerk to record the document and what banks and other institutions usually expect before they will act on it.

5. 5

   There is no state form to copy. Because the act publishes no fill-in template, a Mississippi power of attorney is written around your own circumstances rather than pulled from a government form.

6. 6

   The writing defines the agent's reach. Mississippi's act lists no separate special powers that must be granted one by one, so what your agent may do is read from the four corners of the document. If you want the agent to make gifts or take other specific steps, say so in plain terms.

7. 7

   Real-estate use triggers recording. A power of attorney used to convey or mortgage land must be acknowledged and recorded with the chancery clerk in the county where the property sits, and under Miss. Code Ann. Section 87-3-113 the attorney-in-fact's authenticated affidavit is recordable as well.

Mississippi Requirements for Durable Power of Attorney

• No Statutory Witness or Notary Rule

  Under Mississippi's Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, Miss. Code 87-3-101 through 87-3-113, the current act sets no statutory witness requirement and no statutory notarization requirement for validity between the parties. A signature is governed by Mississippi's general acknowledgment and conveyance law rather than by the power of attorney act itself.

• Notarize to Record and for Bank Acceptance

  Although the act sets no notarization requirement for validity, notarization is needed in practice before the document can be recorded with a chancery clerk and is commonly required by banks and other institutions, so most Mississippi powers of attorney are notarized.

• Durability Language Is Required

  Mississippi does not make a power of attorney durable by default. Under Miss. Code 87-3-105 the document is durable only if it contains express words showing the agent's authority survives your subsequent disability or incapacity, such as that the power is not affected by that disability or incapacity. Without that language, the authority ends when you lose capacity.

• Springing Effective Date (Optional)

  If you want the power of attorney to take effect only on a future event such as your incapacity, Miss. Code 87-3-105 recognizes a springing power that becomes effective on the principal's disability or incapacity. The act supplies no mechanism for determining incapacity, so the document should specify the triggering event and how it is established.

• No Statutory Form

  Mississippi's current act publishes no statutory form for a financial power of attorney, so the document is drafted to your situation rather than copied from a state-issued template. The agent's authority is defined by the four corners of the document and by common-law agency principles.

• Record It for Real-Property Use

  A power of attorney used to convey or mortgage real estate must be acknowledged and recorded in the chancery clerk's office of the county where the property is located. Under Miss. Code 87-3-113, the attorney-in-fact's authenticated affidavit is likewise recordable when exercising the power requires a recordable instrument.

• Special Powers Need Express Language

  Mississippi's current act has no codified list of special powers, sometimes called hot powers, that must be separately granted. The agent's authority is defined by the four corners of the document and by common-law agency principles, so authority such as making gifts should be stated clearly.

• Revocation and Third-Party Protection

  Mississippi's act sets no single revocation procedure; in practice the principal revokes by a signed writing and by giving actual notice to the agent and third parties. Under Miss. Code 87-3-111, a person who acts in good faith without actual knowledge of a revocation, death, or incapacity is protected. If the power of attorney was recorded, record the revocation in the same chancery clerk's office.