Michigan Durable Power of Attorney Requirements

The 2024 Overhaul Most People Missed

If you're working with a Michigan Durable Power of Attorney template you found before 2024, it may not comply with current law. In 2024, Michigan enacted Act 187 of 2023, replacing the old durable power of attorney provisions under EPIC (MCL 700.5501–5505) with the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (MCL 556.201 et seq.).

The practical impact: execution requirements changed, new disclosure statements became mandatory, and the legal liability framework for financial institutions that refuse to honor a properly executed POA shifted significantly. Most law firm blogs and free template sites haven't caught up — and using a non-compliant form creates exactly the kind of institutional rejection that drives families toward court-ordered conservatorship unnecessarily.

Current Execution Requirements

Under the Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a valid Durable Financial Power of Attorney must meet all of the following:

Signed voluntarily by the principal. The person granting the power (the "principal") must sign the document voluntarily.

Dated. The document must include the date of execution.

Either witnessed OR notarized. This is the key change from older Michigan law. The document must be:

• Signed in the presence of two independent witnesses, neither of whom is the named agent (the person receiving the authority), OR
• Acknowledged before a notary public

You need one or the other — not both. However, best practice in disability transition planning is to do both witnesses and notarization, since some financial institutions' compliance departments remain unfamiliar with the new act and may initially demand notarization regardless of witness attestation.

Contains the required durability language. To survive the principal's subsequent incapacity (which is the entire point for disability planning), the POA must explicitly state that the agent's authority continues even if the principal becomes incapacitated. Without this language, the POA dies at the moment the principal loses capacity — making it useless for the families who need it most.

The Disclosure Requirement

The Uniform Power of Attorney Act introduced mandatory disclosure statements that must be included in the document. The principal receives a written explanation of the powers they're granting, and the agent receives a written explanation of their fiduciary duties.

These disclosures aren't optional boilerplate. If they're missing from the document, a financial institution has grounds to reject it — and they'd be on solid legal footing doing so.

Institutional Acceptance and Enforcement

One of the most significant changes under the new act: financial institutions now face legal consequences for unreasonably refusing to accept a properly executed Durable Power of Attorney. Under the UPOAA, if a bank, credit union, or brokerage rejects a compliant POA without legitimate cause, the agent can petition the court to order acceptance — and the institution can be held liable for court costs and attorney fees.

This matters enormously for families navigating the disability transition. Before the 2024 act, banks routinely rejected powers of attorney, telling families they needed to get a court-ordered conservatorship instead. The conservatorship process costs $5,000–$10,000 in legal fees, requires ongoing annual filings, and strips the individual of their financial autonomy — all to accomplish what a $0 Durable Power of Attorney already authorizes.

Where to Get Compliant Forms

The Kimble Center for Legal Drafting at Cooley Law School developed plain-language Michigan Power of Attorney forms that comply with the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. These forms are officially endorsed by the Michigan Department of Attorney General's Elder Abuse Task Force and are available through Michigan Legal Help at no cost.

Avoid generic national templates (LegalZoom, Nolo, Rocket Lawyer) for Michigan-specific disability planning. They frequently omit the UPOAA disclosure requirements, use outdated statutory references, and don't include the durability language specific to Michigan's current framework.

Disability-Specific Considerations

For families whose young adult with a disability is approaching 18, the Durable Financial POA is one piece of a broader legal toolkit that can prevent the need for court-ordered guardianship or conservatorship:

Capacity at the moment of signing is what matters. The principal must understand, at the time they sign, that they're authorizing another person to manage financial matters on their behalf. This doesn't require sophisticated reasoning — it requires basic comprehension of what the document does. A young adult with an intellectual disability who can understand "I'm letting Mom handle my bank account" generally has sufficient capacity to execute a POA.

Timing matters. For a turning-18 plan, prepare the document in advance and arrange signing after the individual reaches 18.

A POA doesn't cover medical decisions. Financial authority and medical authority are completely separate under Michigan law. For healthcare decision-making, you need a Patient Advocate Designation (governed by MCL 700.5506), which has its own set of requirements — including a stricter two-witness rule that cannot be substituted with notarization.

The Michigan Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide includes side-by-side execution checklists for both the Durable Financial POA and the Patient Advocate Designation, with plain-language instructions mapped to the Kimble Center forms. It covers how to integrate both documents into a unified plan that gives families the authority they need without court involvement.

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