Washington Durable Power of Attorney
Washington durable power of attorney: sign, date, and either notarize or use two competent witnesses (RCW 11.125.050); must expressly survive incapacity.
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 Washington that person is called your agent, sometimes called your attorney-in-fact. 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. A power of attorney that is not durable ends the moment you lose that capacity. Washington adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, codified at RCW Chapter 11.125 and effective January 1, 2017. To be valid under RCW 11.125.050, the document must be signed and dated by you, and your signature must be either acknowledged before a notary public or attested by two or more competent witnesses. A witness may not be your home care provider or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you reside, and each witness must be unrelated to you or your agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership. Washington does not make a power of attorney durable by default: under RCW 11.125.040 the agent's authority terminates on your incapacity unless the document expressly states it survives incapacity. Washington's Act has no mandatory statutory short form. This guide covers the financial and general durable power of attorney only. A health-care power of attorney is a separate Washington 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, also called your attorney-in-fact, 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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It is not durable unless you say so. Washington does not make a power of attorney durable by default. Under RCW 11.125.040 the agent's authority terminates on your incapacity unless the writing expressly states the authority survives incapacity, using words such as that the power is not affected by your disability.
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You choose notary OR two witnesses. Under RCW 11.125.050 the document must be signed and dated by you, and your signature must be either acknowledged before a notary public or attested by two or more competent witnesses. The two methods are alternatives, not both.
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Not everyone can witness. Under RCW 11.125.050 a witness may not be your home care provider or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you reside, and each witness must be unrelated to you or your agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership.
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There is no mandatory statutory form. Washington's Uniform Power of Attorney Act does not include a required short form. The only form in the chapter is an agent's certification of validity under RCW 11.125.430, which an agent may sign to certify the power of attorney and their authority.
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Some powers need express language. Under RCW 11.125.240 an agent may make a gift, create, amend, or revoke a trust, change rights of survivorship or beneficiary designations, or delegate authority only if the document expressly grants that specific power. Without express language, the agent cannot do these things.
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Real-property use often means recording. RCW Chapter 11.125 does not require recording to make a power of attorney effective, and RCW 11.125.270 sets no recording mandate. In practice, when an agent records a real-property conveyance, the underlying power of attorney is recorded with the county auditor under Washington's general recording statutes.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Durable Power of Attorney in Washington, 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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Washington Requirements for Durable Power of Attorney
Under RCW 11.125.050, the power of attorney must be signed and dated by you, and your signature must be either acknowledged before a notary public or attested by two or more competent witnesses. The two methods are alternatives, so notarizing removes the witness requirement.
Under RCW 11.125.050, a witness may not be your home care provider or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you reside, and each witness must be unrelated to you or your agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership. Each witness subscribes in your presence and at your direction.
Washington does not make a power of attorney durable by default. Under RCW 11.125.040 the agent's authority terminates on your incapacity unless the writing expressly states the authority survives incapacity, using words such as that the power is not affected by your disability.
Under RCW 11.125.090 a power of attorney is effective when executed unless you provide that it becomes effective at a future date or event, such as your incapacity. When incapacity is the trigger, you may authorize a person to make the written determination, or absent that a physician or licensed psychologist unrelated to you or your agent who has examined you makes it.
Washington's Uniform Power of Attorney Act does not include a required short form, so the document need only meet the execution rules of RCW 11.125.050. The only form in the chapter is an agent's certification of validity under RCW 11.125.430, which an agent may sign to certify the power of attorney and their authority.
RCW Chapter 11.125 imposes no requirement to record a power of attorney to make it effective, and RCW 11.125.270 sets no recording mandate. As a practical matter, when an agent records a real-property conveyance, the underlying power of attorney is typically recorded with the county auditor where the property is located.
Certain high-risk powers, sometimes called hot powers, are allowed only if your document specifically grants them. Under RCW 11.125.240, your agent may make a gift, create, amend, or revoke a trust, change rights of survivorship or beneficiary designations, delegate authority, or waive rights in a joint and survivor annuity only when the document expressly says so.
Under RCW 11.125.100 a power of attorney terminates when you revoke it, among other events such as your death. Executing a new power of attorney does not revoke a prior one unless it says so, and a termination does not bind a person who acts in good faith without knowledge of it, so give notice to those who rely on the document.
Frequently Asked Questions
A durable power of attorney is a legal document that lets you name an agent, also called an attorney-in-fact, to manage your financial and property matters. It is called durable because, under RCW 11.125.040, it keeps working even if you later become incapacitated, rather than ending when you lose the capacity to make decisions.
The difference is what happens if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney expressly states that the agent's authority survives your incapacity, which RCW 11.125.040 requires. A regular, nondurable power of attorney does not, so under RCW 11.125.040 the agent's authority terminates the moment you can no longer make decisions. Washington treats a power of attorney as nondurable unless it includes durability language.
No. Under RCW 11.125.040, the agent's authority terminates on the principal's incapacity unless the document expressly states that the authority survives incapacity. The writing must use words such as that the power is not affected by the principal's disability, or similar language showing the authority continues despite incapacity.
Not necessarily. Under RCW 11.125.050, a Washington power of attorney is valid if the principal's signature is either acknowledged before a notary public or attested by two or more competent witnesses. The two methods are alternatives. Notarizing is common and is often required in practice when an agent records a real-property transaction.
If you do not notarize the document, RCW 11.125.050 requires two or more competent witnesses. A witness may not be your home care provider or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you reside, and each witness must be unrelated to you or your agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership.
Under RCW 11.125.090, a power of attorney is effective when executed unless the principal provides that it becomes effective at a future date or upon a future event, such as the principal's incapacity. When incapacity triggers effectiveness, the principal may authorize a person to make the written determination, or absent that, a physician or licensed psychologist unrelated to the principal or agent who has personally examined the principal makes it.
Under RCW 11.125.240, an agent may take certain acts only if the document expressly grants that authority. These include creating, amending, revoking, or terminating an inter vivos trust, making a gift, creating or changing rights of survivorship, changing a beneficiary designation, delegating authority, and waiving the principal's right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity. Without express language, the agent cannot do these things.
Under RCW 11.125.100, a power of attorney terminates when the principal revokes it, among other events such as the principal's death. Executing a new power of attorney does not revoke a prior one unless the new document says so. A termination is not effective as to a person who, without actual knowledge of it, acts in good faith under the power of attorney, so give notice to those who rely on it.