Signing Over Authority
MCL 556.205 — a notary or two witnesses, or it is not durable
In Michigan, a power of attorney created under the current act is effective only if signed by the principal, or by another individual in the principal's conscious presence whom the principal directs to sign the principal's name.
Durable only if notarized or witnessed. One the principal signs is durable only if it is acknowledged before a notary public or other person authorized to take acknowledgments, or signed in the presence of 2 witnesses who also sign it. One signed by someone else for the principal needs the 2 witnesses either way. Executed that way, it is durable unless it expressly says incapacity ends it; executed any other way, it is not durable.
Neither witness may be an agent named in the document, and one witness may be the notary. A witnessed signature that was not acknowledged before a notary does not get the presumption that the signature is genuine.
Live when signed unless it says otherwise. A power of attorney is effective when executed unless it provides that it starts on a specified future date or event, and it can name 1 or more people to decide in a record that the event has happened. Where it waits on incapacity and nobody is named, or the person named cannot or will not decide, it takes effect on a determination by a physician or licensed psychologist, or by an attorney, a judge or an appropriate government official.
| The assumption | What the law actually does |
|---|---|
| The assumptionAny signed power of attorney survives incapacity | What the law actually doesOnly one notarized, or signed before 2 witnesses |
| The assumptionIt waits until I lose capacity | What the law actually doesEffective when executed unless it says otherwise |
| The assumptionThe agent can be a witness | What the law actually doesNo witness may be an agent named in it |
| The assumptionThe agent can keep it all in their head | What the law actually doesReasonable records of receipts, disbursements and transactions, whatever the document says |
Whatever the document says, an agent who has accepted appointment acts on the principal's reasonable expectations as far as actually known, otherwise in the principal's best interest, in good faith and within the authority granted, and keeps reasonable records of receipts, disbursements and transactions. Unless the document says otherwise, the agent also acts loyally and avoids conflicts of interest.
Thirty days to disclose. When a court orders it, or the principal, a guardian, a conservator, another fiduciary, adult protective services or, after a death, the personal representative asks, the agent complies within 30 days, or provides a record of why more time is needed and complies within an additional 30 days.
These sections speak of powers of attorney created on or after the act's effective date. Patient advocates, revocation, and the powers that must be granted expressly run under their own sections and are not on this page. Drafting, limiting or challenging one is a matter for a licensed Michigan attorney.
Sources for this section (4)
- MCL 556.205 — Execution of power of attorney; requirements
- MCL 556.204 — Limited presumption of durability
- MCL 556.209 — Effective date of power of attorney
- MCL 556.214 — Agent's duties; liability; breach of fiduciary duty
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Michigan attorney.