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Power of Attorney in Illinois: Requirements, the Statutory Short Form, and How to Get One
An Illinois power of attorney for property needs a witness and a notary, and the law limits who can be either. Here is what the Illinois Power of Attorney Act requires and how the short form works.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- An Illinois power of attorney for property must be signed in front of a witness and notarized, and the statute bars certain relatives, agents and care providers from serving as the witness or the notary (755 ILCS 45/3-3.6).
- Illinois has a statutory short form for property, made of three parts: a notice to the person signing, the form itself, and a notice to the agent.
- Unless it says otherwise, it continues through your parent's incapacity and until death, and your parent can revoke it while they have capacity.
- Health care decisions use a separate Illinois power of attorney for health care, with lighter signing rules.
- Retirement Checklist turns your parent's situation into a short, ordered plan, so the power of attorney sits in the right place among everything else.
A power of attorney in Illinois for property and finances must bear the signature of a witness and be notarized. Under 755 ILCS 45/3-3.6, "Every property power shall bear the signature of a witness to the signing of the agency and shall be notarized." The same section rules out certain people as the witness or the notary, including your parent's close relatives and anyone named as an agent.
What is a power of attorney for property in Illinois?
It's a document in which your parent (the principal) names someone (the agent) to handle money and property for them. Illinois calls the arrangement an "agency," and the statutory short form is called a "statutory property power."
An Illinois power of attorney keeps working through incapacity unless it says otherwise. Under 755 ILCS 45/2-5, unless it states an earlier end date, it "continues until the death of the principal, notwithstanding any lapse of time, the principal's disability or incapacity or appointment of a guardian for the principal after the agency is signed." In other words, it's durable. For why timing matters, see our guide to power of attorney for an elderly parent.
What does Illinois require for a power of attorney to be valid?
For a property power, a witness and a notary. Neither can be any of the following (755 ILCS 45/3-3.6):
- your parent's attending physician or mental health service provider, or a relative of either;
- an owner or operator of a health care facility where your parent is a patient or resident, or a relative of one;
- a parent, sibling or descendant of your parent or of any agent or successor agent, or the spouse of one of those, whether the relationship is by blood, marriage or adoption;
- an agent or successor agent for property.
That rules out your parent's children and grandchildren, and the agent's parents, siblings and children, as either the witness or the notary. The facility rule covers owners, operators and their directors and executive officers, not other employees. Checking each person against the list before the signing appointment avoids having to do it twice.
Is there an official Illinois power of attorney form?
Yes. Section 3-3 of the Act sets out the Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property, which has three parts that belong together:
- a Notice to the Individual Signing the form;
- the form itself;
- a Notice to Agent.
The notice is worth reading with your parent before anyone signs. It describes the form's purpose as giving the agent "broad powers to handle your financial affairs, which may include the power to pledge, sell, or dispose of any of your real or personal property, even without your consent or any advance notice to you." It also says that with the statutory short form "you may name successor agents, but you may not name co-agents."
The form lists categories of powers, such as real estate transactions, financial institution transactions and tax matters. Your parent strikes out any category they don't want to grant; a category left in place grants the agent the powers that Section 3-4 of the Act describes. Powers such as making gifts or changing beneficiaries are added separately, in their own paragraph.
When does it take effect, and when does it end?
The statutory form says that, absent amendment or revocation, the authority "will become effective at the time this power is signed and will continue until your death." Your parent can change either end by initialing and completing the form's optional paragraphs: one for a later start date or event, such as a written determination by a physician that your parent is incapacitated, and one for an end date.
Divorce changes things. If a court enters a judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal separation between your parent and their spouse after the power of attorney is signed, "the spouse shall be deemed to have died at the time of the judgment for all purposes of the agency" (755 ILCS 45/2-6).
The form also revokes earlier ones: its first paragraph says your parent "hereby revoke[s] all prior powers of attorney for property executed by me."
What does the agent have to do?
Whenever the agent acts, 755 ILCS 45/2-7 says the agent "shall act in good faith for the benefit of the principal using due care, competence, and diligence," and "shall be liable for negligent exercise." The agent has no duty to act at all, but these rules apply once they do.
The agent must also act according to your parent's expectations as far as the agent knows them, otherwise in your parent's best interests, and must "keep a record of all receipts, disbursements, and significant actions taken under the authority of the agency." That record has to be provided on request to your parent, a guardian, and, in an elder abuse or neglect assessment, to adult protective services. Our guide to protecting a parent from scams covers the financial warning signs any agent should know.
Do banks have to accept an Illinois power of attorney?
A bank can't refuse without a reason: under 755 ILCS 45/2-8, anyone who fails to comply with the agent's direction "arbitrarily or without reasonable cause shall be subject to civil liability for any damages resulting from noncompliance." The same section protects anyone who relies on the document in good faith, and lists reasons that do count as reasonable cause, such as a good-faith referral to adult protective services.
For the statutory short form, the Act lists reasons that don't justify a refusal on their own, including that the document isn't on the bank's own form and that time has passed since it was signed. A bank can ask the agent for an Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority, a sworn statement that the copy is true and the powers are still in effect; the Act includes a form for it.
How do you get a power of attorney for an elderly parent in Illinois?
Your parent makes it, signing in front of a qualified witness and a notary while able to. The steps:
- Talk with your parent about who they'd want acting for them, and who should step in if that person can't.
- Choose a document: the statutory short form, with all three parts, or one drafted for your parent's situation.
- Go through the categories with your parent and strike out any they don't want to grant.
- Line up a witness and a notary who aren't on the excluded list.
- Your parent signs in front of the witness, and the notary notarizes the signature.
- Give the agent a copy and the Notice to Agent, and keep the original somewhere safe.
Timing matters because your parent has to be able to sign. If that moment has passed, the family may need a court process instead, described in our Illinois guardianship guide. If the situation is complicated, it helps to know what an elder law attorney does.
How do you revoke a power of attorney in Illinois?
Your parent can revoke it at any time while they have the capacity to do so, by telling the agent or another person connected with the agency. Under 755 ILCS 45/2-5, your parent can amend or revoke it, "if the principal has the capacity to do so, at any time and in any manner communicated to the agent or to any other person related to the subject matter of the agency."
A written, dated revocation sent to the agent and to every bank holding a copy leaves a clear record of when the authority ended. Signing a new statutory form also revokes earlier property powers, because of the language in its first paragraph.
How much does a power of attorney cost in Illinois?
The statutory short form is printed in the Act and free to use. The notarization is the step with a fee, and Illinois caps it: the maximum fee for a non-electronic notarization is $5 for any notarial act (5 ILCS 312/3-104).
If your parent hires a lawyer to draft or review the document, that is a separate cost.
Frequently asked questions
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Illinois?
Yes, for property. Under 755 ILCS 45/3-3.6, every Illinois power of attorney for property must bear a witness's signature and be notarized, and the statute bars certain people from serving as the witness or the notary. The Illinois power of attorney for health care is different: its statutory form says it doesn't need to be notarized.
Who can't witness an Illinois power of attorney?
The witness and the notary can't be your parent's attending physician or mental health provider or their relatives, an owner or operator of your parent's care facility or their relatives, an agent or successor agent, or a parent, sibling or descendant of your parent or of any agent, or the spouse of one of those.
Where can I get an Illinois power of attorney form?
The Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property is printed in Section 3-3 of the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, 755 ILCS 45, on the General Assembly's website. It has three parts, a notice to the person signing, the form and a notice to the agent, and all three belong together.
Can an Illinois property power of attorney be used for medical decisions?
No. Health care decisions use a separate Illinois power of attorney for health care under Article IV of the same Act, with its own statutory form. That form needs one witness and, according to its own instructions, no notary. Our guide to Illinois advance directives explains it and the Illinois living will.
What if my elderly parent can no longer sign?
The power of attorney has to be made by your parent while they're able to make it. If your parent can no longer do that, a court-supervised guardianship may be the remaining route. If a guardian is later appointed, an existing Illinois power of attorney doesn't end on that account, because the statute says it continues notwithstanding a guardian's appointment.
Is a power of attorney from another state valid in Illinois?
Yes, if it was validly made. Under 755 ILCS 45/2-10.6, a power of attorney executed in another state is valid in Illinois if it complied, when signed, with the law of the state where it was signed, Illinois law, or the law where your parent or the agent lived or did business. Banks may still ask for a certification.
Getting started
A power of attorney is time-sensitive, because it needs your parent's signature, a qualified witness and a notary while your parent can still sign. It's also one step among several. The plan this site builds asks four questions, including which state your parents live in, and puts the handful of steps that matter most for your family in order. It's free and takes about 90 seconds.
Related guides
Sources
- Illinois Power of Attorney Act, 755 ILCS 45: durability and revocation (2-5), divorce (2-6), agent duties (2-7), reliance and refusals (2-8), out-of-state powers (2-10.6), the statutory short form (3-3) and witness and notary rules (3-3.6).
- Illinois Notary Public Act, 5 ILCS 312: the maximum notary fee (3-104).
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