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Power of Attorney in Michigan: The 2024 Law, the Statutory Form, and How to Get One
Michigan adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act on July 1, 2024. To be durable, a power of attorney needs a notary or two witnesses. Here is what the law requires and how to set one up.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- Since July 1, 2024, Michigan powers of attorney are governed by the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, MCL 556.201 to 556.505.
- A signed power of attorney is valid, but it's durable, meaning it survives your parent's incapacity, only if it's notarized or signed before two witnesses who aren't named as agents (MCL 556.205).
- Notarizing gives extra protection: a bank must accept a notarized power of attorney, or ask for more information, within seven business days.
- Michigan publishes a Michigan Statutory Form Power of Attorney; it doesn't cover health care, which takes a separate patient advocate designation.
- 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 Michigan is effective when your parent signs it, or someone signs for them in their conscious presence at their direction. To be durable, meaning it survives your parent's incapacity, it must also be acknowledged before a notary or signed in front of two witnesses who aren't named as agents (MCL 556.205). Michigan's new law took effect July 1, 2024, and it applies to powers of attorney created before or after that date.
What is a durable power of attorney in Michigan?
A durable power of attorney in Michigan is one that is "not terminated by the principal's incapacity" (MCL 556.202). The same section defines a power of attorney as "a written record that grants authority to an agent to act in 1 or more matters on behalf of the principal." Your parent is the principal.
Under MCL 556.204, a power of attorney signed with a notary or two witnesses "is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." One that's merely signed, with neither, "is not durable." For why families set one up early, see our guide to power of attorney for an elderly parent.
What does Michigan require for a power of attorney to be valid?
Michigan requires a signature to make a power of attorney effective, and a notary or two witnesses to make it durable:
| To be... | What MCL 556.205 requires |
|---|---|
| Effective | Signed by your parent, or by someone in their conscious presence at their direction |
| Durable | Also either acknowledged before a notary, or signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign |
For the witness option, "A witness may not be an agent nominated in the power," and one of the two witnesses may be the notary. If someone signs on your parent's behalf, two witnesses are required for durability, even if it's also notarized.
Why notarize anyway. A notarized signature is presumed genuine, and the bank-acceptance rules below apply only to notarized powers of attorney. A power of attorney that's witnessed but not notarized "is not entitled to the presumption of genuineness." Michigan's statutory form says it plainly: notarizing "will make it harder" for someone "to decline to accept the power and your agent's authority to act on your behalf."
Is there an official Michigan power of attorney form?
Yes. MCL 556.401 sets out the "MICHIGAN STATUTORY FORM POWER OF ATTORNEY," and a document "substantially in the following form" may be used. The form is printed in the statute on the Michigan Legislature's website.
The form opens with a notice addressed to your parent. It says "you are taking a serious step if you decide to make use of this form without seeking legal advice," and that "This power of attorney does not authorize the agent to make health care decisions for you." By default, it "becomes effective immediately," and "Your agent is entitled to reasonable compensation unless you state otherwise in the Special Instructions."
Your parent initials the subjects they want to cover, such as banks, real property or retirement plans. Some powers need their own initials, because under MCL 556.301 an agent can make gifts, create or change beneficiary designations or rights of survivorship, or change trusts only if the power of attorney "expressly grants the agent the authority."
What must the agent sign?
The agent signs an acknowledgment of the agent's duties before acting. Under MCL 556.213, "Before exercising authority under a durable power of attorney, an agent shall execute an acknowledgment of the agent's duties," using the substance of the optional "Agent's Acknowledgment" template in the statute.
Not signing it doesn't take away the agent's authority, but a person asked to accept the power of attorney "may require that the agent provide the acknowledgment before accepting the power" (MCL 556.219). Signing it when your parent signs means it's ready if a bank asks.
When does it take effect, and when does it end?
It's "effective when executed" unless it says it starts at a future date or event (MCL 556.209). A power of attorney that starts on incapacity can name who decides; if it doesn't, a written determination by a physician or licensed psychologist, or in some cases an attorney, judge or government official, triggers it.
Under MCL 556.210, it ends when your parent dies, when your parent revokes it, when it isn't durable and your parent becomes incapacitated, or when the agent can no longer serve and no other agent is named. An agent's authority also ends, unless the document says otherwise, when "An action is filed for the dissolution or annulment of the agent's marriage to the principal or for the legal separation of the agent and the principal." That's the filing, not the final judgment.
A court-appointed conservator or guardian of the estate doesn't end it. The agent becomes "accountable to the fiduciary as well as to the principal," and the authority continues unless the court limits or ends it.
What does the agent have to do?
Under MCL 556.214, whatever the document says, an agent must act according to your parent's known reasonable expectations, otherwise in your parent's best interest, in good faith, within the authority granted, and "Keep reasonable records of receipts, disbursements, and transactions." Unless the document says otherwise, the agent must also act loyally, avoid conflicts, act with the care of a prudent person and try to preserve your parent's estate plan.
If your parent, a guardian, a conservator or adult protective services asks for those records, the agent has 30 days to provide them or explain why more time is needed. An agent who embezzles or wrongfully converts property can be liable for treble its value. Our guide to protecting a parent from scams covers the warning signs any agent should know.
Do banks have to accept a Michigan power of attorney?
Yes, if it's notarized, and on a deadline. Under MCL 556.220, a person "shall either accept an acknowledged power of attorney" or request the agent's acknowledgment, a certification, a translation or an opinion of counsel "not later than 7 business days after the power is presented for acceptance." After receiving what they asked for, they have five business days to accept, and they can't demand "An additional or different form of power of attorney."
The statute lists reasons a bank can still refuse, such as a good-faith belief that the document isn't valid, or a report to adult protective services about suspected abuse or exploitation by the agent. A wrongful refusal can bring a court order to accept it and liability for reasonable attorney fees and costs.
How do you get a power of attorney for an elderly parent in Michigan?
Your parent makes it, by signing before a notary or two witnesses who aren't named as agents. The steps:
- Talk with your parent about who they'd want acting for them, and who should succeed them.
- Choose a document: the Michigan Statutory Form, or one drafted for your parent's situation.
- Go through the subjects and the specific powers with your parent; they initial only what they want to grant.
- Your parent signs before a notary, or before two witnesses who aren't named as agents; the statutory form has room for both.
- Have the agent sign the agent's acknowledgment.
- Give the agent a copy and keep the original somewhere safe.
Timing is the constraint: your parent has to be able to sign. If that moment has passed, the family may need a court process instead, described in our Michigan guardianship guide. For a complicated situation, see what an elder law attorney does.
How do you revoke a power of attorney in Michigan?
Your parent revokes it. Revocation ends a power of attorney under MCL 556.210, but the act doesn't prescribe a method. Notice matters, because a termination "is not effective as to the agent or another person that, without actual knowledge of the termination, acts in good faith under or in reliance upon the power." A written revocation sent to the agent, any successor agents and each bank holding a copy gives them that knowledge.
A recorded power of attorney is different. Under MCL 565.37, a recorded power isn't revoked "unless the instrument containing such revocation be also recorded in the same office."
Signing a new power of attorney doesn't cancel an older one unless the new one says so.
How much does a power of attorney cost in Michigan?
The statutory form is printed in the law and free to use. The notary step is capped: a notary's fee "shall not be more than $10.00 for any individual transaction or notarial act," and any travel fee must be agreed in advance (MCL 55.285).
Attorney fees are separate, and none of the sources on this page sets them.
Frequently asked questions
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Michigan?
Not to be valid, but it needs a notary or two witnesses to be durable. Under MCL 556.205, a power of attorney signed before a notary, or before two witnesses who aren't agents, survives your parent's incapacity. Notarizing also triggers the seven-business-day rule for banks, which a witnessed-only document doesn't get.
Is a Michigan power of attorney durable?
Yes, if it's notarized or signed before two qualified witnesses. MCL 556.204 says a power of attorney executed that way "is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." One that's only signed, with no notary or witnesses, isn't durable and ends if your parent becomes incapacitated.
Where can I get a Michigan power of attorney form?
The Michigan Statutory Form Power of Attorney is printed in MCL 556.401 on the Michigan Legislature's website, and the statute says a document "substantially in the following form" may be used. Using it is optional; a document drafted for your parent's situation also works if it's signed with a notary or two witnesses.
Can a Michigan power of attorney make medical decisions?
No. The statutory form says it "does not authorize the agent to make health care decisions for you," and the act doesn't apply to a patient advocate designation. Michigan handles health care through a separate patient advocate designation with its own two-witness rule. Our guide to Michigan's medical power of attorney explains it.
Are older Michigan powers of attorney still valid?
Yes, if it met the rules in force when signed. Under MCL 556.206, a power of attorney signed in Michigan is valid if it met Michigan's requirements when it was signed. The new act applies to powers of attorney created before, on or after July 1, 2024, though acts done before that date aren't affected.
Is a power of attorney from another state valid in Michigan?
Yes, if it met the right law when signed. Under MCL 556.206, a power of attorney signed outside Michigan is valid there if it complied with the law of the jurisdiction that governs it, the law where your parent lived when signing, or the federal requirements for a military power of attorney.
Getting started
A power of attorney is time-sensitive, because it needs your parent's signature while they can still give it, and in Michigan it needs a notary or two witnesses to survive incapacity. 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
- Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act, 2023 PA 187: MCL 556.201 to 556.505, effective July 1, 2024.
- MCL 556.205, Execution: signing, notary and witnesses.
- MCL 556.220, Acceptance: the seven- and five-business-day rules.
- MCL 556.401, Statutory form: the Michigan Statutory Form Power of Attorney.
- MCL 556.213, Agent's acknowledgment: what the agent signs before acting.
- MCL 55.285, Notary fees: the maximum notary fee.
- MCL 556.210, Termination: when a power of attorney ends, and the actual-knowledge rule.
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