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Direct answer: A power of attorney is a legal document that lets someone you pick, your agent, handle your money or property. You make it before you need it, and it ends when you die. It does not cover Social Security or VA benefits: those agencies appoint their own payee or fiduciary.
By the numbers: The Treasury Department does not recognize power of attorney for negotiating federal payments, including Social Security or SSI checks. Source: SSA: FAQs for representative payees
“It's not your money!” — CFPB: Help for agents under a power of attorney (Jan. 2022)
Updated 2026-10-23
A legal document in which one person (the principal) gives another (the agent, or attorney-in-fact) authority to make decisions about their money or property. The principal can still manage their own money as long as they can make decisions. A separate health care power of attorney names someone for medical decisions.
The CFPB says a durable power of attorney becomes effective when it's signed, while a springing one lets you keep managing your own finances as long as you can make sound decisions and takes effect later. Check the document for when it starts and how incapacity is shown.
No. Social Security says the Treasury Department does not recognize a power of attorney for federal payments, including Social Security and SSI. You must apply to Social Security to be the person's representative payee. VA benefits likewise need a VA-appointed fiduciary.
Yes. The agent's authority ends at death, and the agent should tell the bank and other businesses. After that, the executor or court-appointed administrator handles the estate. It can also end if the person revokes it, and may end on divorce or when a court names a guardian.
The CFPB lists four: act only in the person's best interest, manage their money and property carefully, keep it separate from your own, and keep good records. Don't pay yourself or make gifts unless the document or state law allows it, and sign as agent, for example 'Juan Doe, as agent for Martina Roe.'
The CFPB says to give the bank a copy (never the original), ask for a supervisor if it refuses, and talk to a lawyer if it still won't accept it. State law may require the bank to accept a valid power of attorney. Some banks ask the person to sign the bank's own form while they still can.
As of Oct. 23, 2026
A power of attorney lets someone you trust handle your money if you can't. This page explains, in plain English, what it does and what it doesn't: the agent's duties, why Social Security and VA need their own paperwork, how it ends, and what to do if a bank says no. It uses official sources (CFPB, Social Security, VA, IRS, NIH and the Uniform Law Commission).
Sources: CFPB caregiver options · CFPB agent guide · SSA: power of attorney vs payee · VA Fiduciary Program · NIA: advance directives · Uniform Law Commission.
Pick your state and what you need to do. It runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.
Sources: CFPB agent guide · CFPB caregiver options · SSA: power of attorney vs payee · VA Fiduciary Program · IRS Form 2848 · NIA: advance directives · Uniform Law Commission.
| Type | What it does |
|---|---|
| Financial power of attorney | Gives your agent (also called attorney-in-fact) legal authority to make decisions about your money or property. You can still manage your own money while you're able to (CFPB agent guide). |
| Durable | The CFPB says a durable power of attorney becomes effective when it is signed. It is the kind people make so someone can act if they get sick or injured; some states use the name for the standard document (CFPB caregiver options · CFPB agent guide). |
| Springing | Lets you keep managing your own finances as long as you can make sound decisions; your agent's authority starts later. Check how the document says incapacity will be shown (CFPB caregiver options · CFPB agent guide). |
| Limited to certain matters | A power of attorney can cover only what it lists. IRS Form 2848, for example, covers only the tax matters and years written on it (Form 2848 instructions). |
| Health care power of attorney | Also called a durable power of attorney for health care. It names a health care proxy (agent) for medical decisions if you can't communicate them. A living will records which treatments you would or wouldn't want (NIA: advance directives). |
If you don't meet these standards you could be removed, sued, made to repay money, or investigated by police. As the CFPB guide puts it: "It's not your money!" (CFPB agent guide)
As soon as you need to act, give copies of the power of attorney to the person's banks and other businesses; never give away the original (you can get certified copies). A bank may refuse it and want the person to sign the bank's own form, which is a problem if they can no longer act. If someone won't accept your authority, ask for a supervisor, then talk to a lawyer: state law may require them to accept it (CFPB agent guide).
Family, caregivers, scammers and even agents can take advantage of someone who needs help. If you suspect it, the CFPB says to call local adult protective services or the police (you may be required by law to report), alert the person's bank or card company, and call the local prosecutor or state attorney general. For someone in a nursing home or assisted living, call the long-term care ombudsman or the state Medicaid fraud control unit.
Sources: CFPB agent guide · Eldercare Locator · National Elder Fraud Hotline. More: elder and wire fraud check.
The Uniform Law Commission wrote the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in 2006 as a model law for financial powers of attorney, with default rules and safeguards against financial abuse. Its enactment map lists 32 jurisdictions that have adopted it (including two it lists as substantially similar). The rest use their own law, sometimes built on an earlier uniform act. Even in adopting states, the details (signing, witnesses, notary, forms) are set by each state's statute.
| State | Uniform POA Act (2006) | Earlier uniform version |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Alaska | Not adopted | None listed |
| Arizona | Not adopted | None listed |
| Arkansas | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| California | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| Colorado | Adopted (2006 act) | 1988 statutory form act |
| Connecticut | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Delaware | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| District of Columbia | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| Florida | Not adopted | None listed |
| Georgia | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Hawaii | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act |
| Idaho | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Illinois | Not adopted | None listed |
| Indiana | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Iowa | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Kansas | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Kentucky | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Louisiana | Not adopted | None listed |
| Maine | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act |
| Maryland | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Massachusetts | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Michigan | Substantially similar law | None listed |
| Minnesota | Not adopted | None listed |
| Mississippi | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Missouri | Not adopted | None listed |
| Montana | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| Nebraska | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act |
| Nevada | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| New Hampshire | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| New Jersey | Not adopted | None listed |
| New Mexico | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| New York | Not adopted | None listed |
| North Carolina | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| North Dakota | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Ohio | Adopted (2006 act) | 1988 statutory form act |
| Oklahoma | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| Oregon | Not adopted | None listed |
| Pennsylvania | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Puerto Rico | Not adopted | None listed |
| Rhode Island | Not adopted | None listed |
| South Carolina | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| South Dakota | Substantially similar law | None listed |
| Tennessee | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Texas | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Not adopted | 1979 durable POA act |
| Utah | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Vermont | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Virginia | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| Washington | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
| West Virginia | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act |
| Wisconsin | Adopted (2006 act) | 1979 durable POA act, 1988 statutory form act |
| Wyoming | Adopted (2006 act) | None listed |
Source: Uniform Law Commission (Enactment History, data as of Oct. 23, 2026, 1:03 a.m. UTC). Not adopted on this list does not mean a state has no power of attorney law; every state has one.
Related: Tennessee power of attorney + health care form · Beneficiary designations · Will vs living trust · After a death · Estate hub.
Facts, not legal advice. We summarize federal agency guidance and the Uniform Law Commission's list with dates. Power of attorney rules (what it must say, who must witness or notarize it, what an agent may do) are set by each state; check your state's statute or court self-help site, or ask an attorney or legal aid office. The picker is a lookup, not a ruling. We don't link to or get paid by attorneys, form sellers or legal services.
A legal document in which one person (the principal) gives another (the agent, or attorney-in-fact) authority to make decisions about their money or property. The principal can still manage their own money as long as they can make decisions. A separate health care power of attorney names someone for medical decisions.
The CFPB says a durable power of attorney becomes effective when it's signed, while a springing one lets you keep managing your own finances as long as you can make sound decisions and takes effect later. Check the document for when it starts and how incapacity is shown.
No. Social Security says the Treasury Department does not recognize a power of attorney for federal payments, including Social Security and SSI. You must apply to Social Security to be the person's representative payee. VA benefits likewise need a VA-appointed fiduciary.
Yes. The agent's authority ends at death, and the agent should tell the bank and other businesses. After that, the executor or court-appointed administrator handles the estate. It can also end if the person revokes it, and may end on divorce or when a court names a guardian.
The CFPB lists four: act only in the person's best interest, manage their money and property carefully, keep it separate from your own, and keep good records. Don't pay yourself or make gifts unless the document or state law allows it, and sign as agent, for example 'Juan Doe, as agent for Martina Roe.'
The CFPB says to give the bank a copy (never the original), ask for a supervisor if it refuses, and talk to a lawyer if it still won't accept it. State law may require the bank to accept a valid power of attorney. Some banks ask the person to sign the bank's own form while they still can.
Education only, not legal or tax advice. Laws and benefit rules come from state statutes, courts and federal agencies with dates; talk with a licensed attorney in your state before you act.