Pennsylvania Durable Power of Attorney
A Pennsylvania durable power of attorney must be signed, notarized, and witnessed by two adults under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, and is durable by default.
Introduction
A durable power of attorney is a legal document that lets you name someone you trust to manage your money, property, and business matters if you cannot handle them yourself. In Pennsylvania that person is called your agent. The word durable is the key: a durable power of attorney keeps working even if you later become incapacitated and can no longer make decisions, which is usually the whole reason people create one. Pennsylvania's power of attorney law lives in 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 56, substantially amended by Act 95 of 2014. For a power of attorney executed on or after January 1, 2015, 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601 requires the document to be dated and signed by you, acknowledged before a notary public, and witnessed by two individuals who are each 18 or older. The notary and your agent may not act as witnesses. The document must also include the statutory NOTICE in capital letters at the beginning, signed by you, and your agent must first execute the statutory ACKNOWLEDGMENT before acting. Pennsylvania powers of attorney are durable by default under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1, surviving your later incapacity unless the document specifically provides otherwise. This guide covers the financial and general durable power of attorney only. A health-care power of attorney is a separate Pennsylvania instrument. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A durable power of attorney lets someone act for you. It names an agent to handle your money, property, and business matters. Durable means the document keeps working even if you later become incapacitated, which is usually why people set one up.
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You sign before a notary and two witnesses. For a power of attorney executed on or after January 1, 2015, 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601 requires the document to be dated, signed by you, acknowledged before a notary public, and witnessed by two individuals who are each 18 or older.
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It is durable by default. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1, every Pennsylvania power of attorney is durable unless the document specifically provides otherwise, so your agent's authority survives your later disability or incapacity as provided in 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5604.
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Your agent and notary may not witness. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, the notary public and the agent named in the document may not act as witnesses, and neither may a person who signed the power of attorney for you.
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The notice and agent acknowledgment are mandatory. The document must include the statutory NOTICE in capital letters at the beginning, signed by you, and under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601(d) your agent must execute the statutory ACKNOWLEDGMENT before acting on your behalf.
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Some powers need express language. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.4, an agent may exercise nine hot powers only if the document expressly grants them, such as making a gift, changing rights of survivorship, changing a beneficiary designation, or accessing your electronic communications.
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Recording is permissive. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5602(c), an acknowledged power of attorney may be recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where you reside and each county where affected real property is located, mainly when your agent will handle real estate.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Durable Power of Attorney in Pennsylvania, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Durable Power of Attorney guide walks through them.
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Pennsylvania Requirements for Durable Power of Attorney
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, a power of attorney executed on or after January 1, 2015 must be dated and signed by you (or by another adult on your behalf at your direction if you cannot sign), acknowledged before a notary public, and witnessed by two individuals who are each 18 or older. These steps are all required, not alternatives.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, the notary public and the agent named in the document may not act as witnesses, and neither may a person who signed the power of attorney for you. Each of the two witnesses must be at least 18 years old.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, the document must include the statutory NOTICE in capital letters at the beginning, and you must sign it. In the absence of a signed notice, the agent carries the burden of showing that the exercise of authority is proper.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601(d), your agent has no authority to act until the agent executes and affixes the statutory ACKNOWLEDGMENT to the power of attorney, confirming the agent has read it and will act in your best interest, in good faith, and within the scope of authority granted under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.3.
Pennsylvania makes a power of attorney durable automatically. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1, every power of attorney is durable unless the document specifically provides otherwise, so your agent authority survives your later disability or incapacity as provided in 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5604. No special durability language is required.
If you want the power of attorney to take effect only later, 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5604(a) lets you provide that it becomes effective at a specified future time or on the occurrence of a specified contingency, including your own disability or incapacity. You define the triggering event in the document.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.4, an agent may exercise nine hot powers only if the document expressly grants them, including creating or revoking a trust, making a gift, creating or changing rights of survivorship, changing a beneficiary designation, delegating authority, disclaiming property, and accessing your electronic communications. Without express language, the agent cannot take these acts.
Recording is permissive, not mandatory. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5602(c), an acknowledged power of attorney may be recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where you reside and in each county where affected real property is located, and the original may be filed with the clerk of the orphans' court division. Record mainly when your agent will handle real estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
A durable power of attorney is a legal document that lets you name an agent to manage your financial and property matters. It is called durable because, under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1, it keeps working even if you later become incapacitated, rather than ending when you lose the capacity to make decisions. Pennsylvania treats every power of attorney as durable unless the document specifically says otherwise.
The difference is what happens if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney stays in effect after you lose capacity; a regular, nondurable one ends the moment you can no longer make decisions. Pennsylvania flips the usual default: under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1 every power of attorney is durable unless the document specifically provides otherwise. So in Pennsylvania a power of attorney is durable automatically, and you would have to add language to make it nondurable.
Yes. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.1, unless the document specifically provides otherwise, all Pennsylvania powers of attorney are durable, meaning the agent's authority survives the principal's later disability or incapacity. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5604(a), the authority conferred is exercisable notwithstanding the principal's subsequent disability or incapacity. No special durability language is needed.
Yes. For a Pennsylvania power of attorney executed on or after January 1, 2015, 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601 requires the principal's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public or another person authorized to take acknowledgments. The notary cannot be the agent named in the document. Notarization is one of several required steps, not the only one; the document must also be witnessed by two adults and carry the statutory notice.
Two. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601, a power of attorney executed on or after January 1, 2015 must be witnessed by two individuals who are each 18 or older. The notary public and the agent named in the document may not act as witnesses, and neither may a person who signed the power of attorney for the principal.
Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5601.4, an agent may exercise nine hot powers only if the document expressly grants the authority: creating or revoking a trust, making a gift, creating or changing rights of survivorship, changing a beneficiary designation, delegating authority, waiving a joint-and-survivor annuity right, exercising delegable fiduciary powers, disclaiming property, and accessing the principal's electronic communications. Without express language, the agent cannot take these acts.
Recording is permissive, not mandatory. Under 20 Pa.C.S. Section 5602(c), an acknowledged power of attorney may be recorded in the office for the recording of deeds in the county where the principal resides and in each county where affected real property is located, and the original may be filed with the clerk of the orphans' court division. You record mainly when the agent will handle real estate.
No. A health-care power of attorney in Pennsylvania is a separate instrument with its own execution rules. The financial or general durable power of attorney described in this guide, governed by 20 Pa.C.S. Chapter 56, authorizes an agent to handle money, property, and business matters. It does not authorize health-care decisions, which require a separate health-care power of attorney.