Signing Over Authority
Va. Code 64.2-1603 — signed, presumed genuine when acknowledged, and durable by default
In Virginia, a power of attorney is signed by the principal, or in the principal's conscious presence by another individual the principal directs. A signature acknowledged before a notary public or another person authorized to take acknowledgments is presumed genuine, and one that is to be recorded must meet the recording requirements in § 55.1-600.
Live the day it is signed. A Virginia power of attorney is effective when executed unless it says it starts at a future date or on a future event, and it can name one or more people to decide in writing that the event has happened.
Where it waits on incapacity and nobody is named to decide, or the person named cannot or will not, it takes effect on a written determination by the principal's attending physician and a second physician or licensed clinical psychologist after a personal examination, or by an attorney, a judge or an appropriate government official.
Durable by default. A power of attorney under the chapter is durable unless it expressly says the principal's incapacity ends it.
| The assumption | What the law actually does |
|---|---|
| The assumptionIt kicks in if I lose capacity | What the law actually doesEffective when executed unless it says otherwise |
| The assumptionI have to make it durable | What the law actually doesDurable unless it says incapacity ends it |
| The assumptionA notary makes it valid | What the law actually doesA notary's acknowledgment makes the signature presumed genuine |
| The assumptionNobody can ask the agent what was done | What the law actually doesRecords on request, within 30 days or an explained extension |
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. Unless the document says otherwise, the agent also acts loyally, avoids conflicts of interest, and keeps a record of all receipts, disbursements and transactions.
Thirty days to disclose. Unless the document says otherwise, when the principal, a guardian, a conservator, another fiduciary 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. Certain family members and others who believe in good faith that the principal is incapacitated can also ask what the agent has done in the past five years, and after a death that request must come within one year.
A clause relieving the agent of these disclosure duties counts only if the principal signed or initialed a statement the section describes. Revocation, gifts, 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 Virginia attorney.
Sources for this section (4)
- Va. Code 64.2-1603 — Execution of power of attorney
- Va. Code 64.2-1607 — When power of attorney effective
- Va. Code 64.2-1602 — Power of attorney is durable
- Va. Code 64.2-1612 — Agent's duties
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Virginia attorney.