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Power of Attorney in Tennessee: Durability Wording, Signing and How to Get One
Tennessee still uses its Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, and a power of attorney only survives incapacity if it says so. Here is what the official sources show and how to set one up.
By naveen · Updated · How we research our guides
What to know
- Tennessee's financial power of attorney law is the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-6-101 and following; a 2019 bill to replace it with the newer Uniform Power of Attorney Act stalled in committee.
- A Tennessee power of attorney is durable only if it contains words showing that it continues despite your parent's later disability or incapacity (§ 34-6-102).
- Your parent can make it effective when signed or defer it until they're determined to be disabled or incapacitated (§ 34-6-111).
- Once the agent acts, they're a fiduciary with a duty to account to your parent or a court-appointed representative (§ 34-6-107).
- 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 Tennessee power of attorney is a signed writing in which your parent (the principal) names an attorney in fact, or agent, to handle money and property, and it survives incapacity only with durability wording. As the Tennessee Attorney General quoted it in 2010, § 34-6-102 treats a power of attorney as durable when the writing says "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal," or uses similar words. Without that language, the document may stop working at the moment your family needs it.
What is a durable power of attorney in Tennessee?
It's a written power of attorney that keeps working after your parent loses capacity. Under § 34-6-102, the writing must contain either "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal" or "This power of attorney shall become effective upon the disability or incapacity of the principal," or "similar words showing the intent of the principal that the authority conferred shall be exercisable, notwithstanding the principal's subsequent disability or incapacity."
That's different from states that adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, where a power of attorney is durable unless it says otherwise. A 2019 Tennessee bill would have made that switch, but it was assigned to subcommittees and went no further. For why families set one up early, see our guide to power of attorney for an elderly parent.
What does Tennessee require to sign a power of attorney?
Tennessee requires a writing signed by your parent while they understand it, according to the Attorney General's 2010 opinion and a state overview of decision-making options. The Attorney General's 2010 opinion says the durable power of attorney statute "does not provide for execution of a durable power of attorney except in writing," and, quoting the Tennessee Supreme Court, that "In the absence of specific legal requirements, a power of attorney may be in any form."
| Question | What the official sources show |
|---|---|
| Form | A writing; the Attorney General found "no provision for executing a power of attorney exclusively by videotape" |
| Durability | Must include the § 34-6-102 wording or similar words |
| Can't sign | Your parent can sign with a mark, or direct someone to sign for them in their presence |
| Witnesses and notary | The opinion calls them "advisable" when someone signs for your parent |
| Capacity | Your parent must understand what a power of attorney does |
The opinion doesn't identify a notary or witness requirement for validity, and we couldn't read the full current statute from an official source, so check the signing plan with an attorney. A state overview of decision-making options puts the capacity point plainly: "You must have capacity to understand what a POA does and how it impacts you before you can sign a POA."
Is there an official Tennessee power of attorney form?
Not in the state sources we read: none of them includes an official fill-in form for a financial power of attorney. The 2019 bill would have added "a sample statutory form power of attorney," but it didn't pass. The state's Health Facilities Commission publishes a free form for health care decisions only; see our Tennessee advance directive guide.
Tennessee law includes a statutory list of an agent's powers (§ 34-6-109) that a document can incorporate by reference. One power needs an express grant: under § 34-6-112, the agent can reach the content of your parent's electronic communications only "if any power of attorney expressly grants" that authority.
When does a Tennessee power of attorney take effect?
Your parent chooses. Under § 34-6-111, the principal "may direct that the power of attorney is effective at the date signed or may defer the effective date to the date the principal is determined to be disabled or incapacitated."
A deferred, or springing, power of attorney has one built-in exception. Even before it takes effect, the agent can see your parent's medical records and talk with their doctors, as their HIPAA personal representative, for the limited purpose of deciding whether your parent is disabled or incapacitated. The access is limited to that purpose.
What does the agent have to do?
The agent must act as a fiduciary and account for what they do. Under § 34-6-107, "An attorney in fact is in a fiduciary relationship with the principal, but only to the extent that the attorney in fact undertakes to act under the power of attorney." Among those duties, the agent must "adequately account to the principal, or to any legal representative of the principal appointed by the principal or by a court."
Keeping clear records of every transaction from the first one makes that accounting possible. Our guide to protecting a parent from scams covers the warning signs any agent should know.
Do banks have to accept a Tennessee power of attorney?
Not under any rule in the official sources we read: they set no deadline for a bank to accept a Tennessee power of attorney and no penalty for refusing one. The 2019 bill would have added rules on "Acceptance of and reliance upon an acknowledged power of attorney" and liability for refusing one; it stalled. The Attorney General's opinion adds a practical warning: "in practice, some parties will not honor a power of attorney unless the power of attorney has been recorded in the appropriate county clerk’s office."
What Tennessee law does provide is protection for people who rely on the document. Under § 34-6-105(c), the agent's affidavit that they have no actual knowledge that the power of attorney ended by revocation or death "is conclusive proof of the nonrevocation or nontermination of the power at that time" for acts done in good faith. Ask your parent's bank early what it needs.
How do you get a power of attorney for an elderly parent in Tennessee?
Your parent makes it. The steps:
- Talk with your parent about who they'd want acting for them, and who should succeed them.
- Choose a document, drafted by an attorney or from a reliable source, that includes the § 34-6-102 durability wording.
- Decide with your parent whether it starts now or when they're determined to be incapacitated.
- Your parent signs in writing; ask the attorney whether to add witnesses and a notary, especially if the document may be recorded.
- Give the agent a copy, keep the original somewhere safe, and check what your parent's bank requires.
Timing matters: if your parent can no longer understand the document, the family may need a court process instead, described in conservatorship and guardianship. It also helps to know what an elder law attorney does.
How does a Tennessee power of attorney end?
A durable power of attorney ends when your parent revokes it or dies, as § 34-6-105(c) reflects. The official sources we read don't prescribe a method for revoking a financial power of attorney. An attorney can document the revocation in writing, and your parent can give notice to the agent and to every bank or office holding a copy.
Notice matters because of the affidavit rule: people who act in good faith on the agent's sworn statement that they don't know of a revocation are protected. If a court later appoints a conservator, see conservatorship and guardianship for how that process works.
How much does a power of attorney cost in Tennessee?
The costs are a notary's fee, if your parent uses a notary, and any attorney's fee; in the sources we read, Tennessee caps only the fee for an online notarization, at $25 per act under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-16-311. For an in-person notarization, according to the Secretary of State, "Notaries public are entitled to demand and receive reasonable fees and compensation for the notaries public's services."
The sources we read don't set what an attorney may charge to draft one. Because Tennessee's durability rule turns on exact wording, an attorney can check that the document contains it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Tennessee?
The Attorney General's 2010 analysis of Tennessee's durable power of attorney statute describes a writing requirement and doesn't identify a notary requirement. It calls witnesses and a notary advisable when someone signs for the principal, and notes that some parties won't honor an unrecorded power of attorney. An attorney can confirm what your parent's document needs.
Does a Tennessee power of attorney have to say it's durable?
Yes. Under § 34-6-102, a power of attorney is durable when the writing says it "shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal," says it becomes effective upon that disability, or uses similar words. Without such language, it may not work once your parent loses capacity, the point at which an agent would need to act.
What if my parent can't sign their name?
The Attorney General's 2010 opinion describes two methods: your parent can sign with a mark, or have someone else sign at their direction. Your parent should be present, understand the terms and intend to authorize the signature. In that situation, the opinion advises having two or more attesting witnesses and a notary.
Can a Tennessee financial power of attorney make medical decisions?
It covers money and property. Tennessee handles health care decisions through an advance directive under the Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, which needs a notary or two qualified witnesses. A springing financial power of attorney does let the agent see medical records to decide whether it has taken effect. Our Tennessee advance directive guide explains the health care side.
Has Tennessee adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act?
No. A 2019 bill, SB0449 and HB0984, would have replaced the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act with the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, including a sample form and acceptance rules. It was assigned to subcommittees and wasn't enacted. The General Assembly's 2025 to 2026 index lists no bills under its Powers of Attorney subject.
How do you revoke a power of attorney in Tennessee?
The official sources we read don't set a method for revoking a financial power of attorney. An attorney can put the revocation in writing, and your parent can notify the agent and every bank or office that has a copy. People who rely in good faith on the agent's affidavit without knowing of a revocation are protected, so notice matters.
Getting started
A power of attorney is time-sensitive, because it needs your parent's signature while they understand it, and in Tennessee it needs the right durability wording to keep working. 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
- Tennessee Attorney General, Opinion No. 10-89 (2010): the durability definition in § 34-6-102, the writing requirement, signing by mark or proxy, and recording in practice.
- 2007 Tennessee Public Chapter 8: the effective date (§ 34-6-111), the agent's fiduciary duty (§ 34-6-107) and the reliance affidavit (§ 34-6-105(c)).
- 2016 Tennessee Public Chapter 570: digital assets and electronic communications (§§ 34-6-109, 34-6-112).
- Tennessee General Assembly, SB0449 (2019): the Uniform Power of Attorney Act bill and its summary of present law.
- Tennessee Secretary of State, notary fees: the reasonable-fee rule in § 8-21-1201.
- 2018 Tennessee Public Chapter 931: the online notarization fee cap (§ 8-16-311).
- Tennessee overview of decision-making, power of attorney and conservatorship: the capacity needed to sign.
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