Wyoming Durable Power of Attorney

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A durable power of attorney hands another person the authority to act for you. That person, your agent or attorney-in-fact, manages your money, property, and business dealings. The word durable signals that the authority carries on even if you later become incapacitated, which is normally the whole point of signing one.

2. 2

   It is durable without any special wording, thanks to a 2017 law. Wyoming adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act as 2017 Senate File 105, effective January 1, 2018. Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-104, a power of attorney signed on or after that date keeps running through your incapacity and stops there only if the document itself says so, so you do not need to add durability language. If you want a non-durable version, write that limit in.

3. 3

   You sign as the principal, and that signing is what gives the document force. Wyo. Stat. 3-9-105 lets you sign yourself or, if you cannot physically sign, have another person sign for you while you are present and directing them. Once the execution is done correctly, Wyo. Stat. 3-9-106 treats the document as valid.

4. 4

   Wyoming asks for no witnesses and disqualifies none. What it does reward is notarization: under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-105, your signature is presumed genuine once you acknowledge it before a notary public. That acknowledgment is the practical key to getting banks and other third parties to accept the document.

5. 5

   Wyoming prints its own fill-in forms. The statutory form power of attorney sits at Wyo. Stat. 3-9-301, and an agent certification form sits at 3-9-302. A document put together substantially in the statutory form carries the meaning and effect the Uniform Power of Attorney Act assigns it, and it reaches only property and financial matters.

6. 6

   A handful of powers demand explicit wording. Wyo. Stat. 3-9-201 lists acts, known as hot powers, that your agent can exercise only when the document spells them out, such as making a gift, creating or amending a trust, altering rights of survivorship, or changing a beneficiary designation. Leave them out and your agent cannot touch them.

7. 7

   Using the document for real estate can trigger a recording step. Nothing in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act makes recording a condition of validity; Wyo. Stat. 3-9-106 keys validity to proper signing alone. But if your agent uses the power of attorney to transfer or mortgage land, the county clerk where the property sits may require the underlying deed to be recorded under separate Wyoming real-property statutes.

Wyoming Requirements for Durable Power of Attorney

• Sign the Document as the Principal

  Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-105, the power of attorney must be signed by you, or by another person in your conscious presence at your direction. That signing is what makes the document valid under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-106.

• No Witnesses Required; Acknowledge Before a Notary

  Wyoming requires no witnesses and names no disqualified witnesses. Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-105, your signature is presumed genuine if you acknowledge it before a notary public. Notarizing is the standard way to make the document readily accepted by banks and other third parties.

• Durable by Default

  Wyoming treats a power of attorney as durable by default. Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-104, a power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2018 survives your incapacity unless the document expressly states that it terminates on incapacity. No special durability language is needed to keep the authority in force.

• Springing Effective Date (Optional)

  Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-109, 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. If it springs on incapacity and no one is named to determine it, a physician or licensed psychologist, or an attorney, judge, or appropriate governmental official, makes that determination in writing.

• Statutory Form and Agent Certification

  You may use Wyoming's statutory form power of attorney at Wyo. Stat. 3-9-301 and the agent's certification form at 3-9-302. A document substantially in the statutory form has the meaning and effect prescribed by the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. It covers property and financial matters only.

• Recording for Real-Property Use

  The Uniform Power of Attorney Act imposes no general recording requirement for validity under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-106. If the power of attorney will be used to convey or encumber real estate, check with the county clerk where the property is located, because recording the underlying deed may be required under separate Wyoming real-property statutes.

• Special Powers Need Express Language

  Certain high-risk powers, called hot powers, are allowed only if your document specifically grants them. Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-201, your agent may make a gift, create or amend a trust, change rights of survivorship, or change a beneficiary designation only when the document expressly says so.

• Revocation and Termination

  Under Wyo. Stat. 3-9-110, a power of attorney terminates when you revoke it, among other events such as your death or, if the document is not durable, your incapacity. Notify your agent and any third party relying on the document, and if it was recorded, record the revocation too so it gives notice.