Financial power of attorney for Pennsylvania
A financial power of attorney names one person who can act on your money and property while you are alive but cannot act for yourself.
$14, or $7 for a second household member ($21 for both). Includes 6 months of changes.
What you pay counts in full toward a package.
Who this is for
- You want one person able to pay your bills and deal with your bank if illness or an accident takes you out of action.
- A parent or spouse is starting to need help with money and has asked you to step in.
- You travel or deploy and need someone able to sign for you while you are away.
- You are getting older and would rather choose your agent now than have a court choose a guardian later.
What it does not do
- It gives no authority over medical treatment. That is a separate document, the healthcare power of attorney.
- It ends the moment you die. From that point your executor acts under your will, and the agent has none.
- Some powers do not come with a general grant. Making gifts, changing a beneficiary designation, or creating or revoking a trust have to be spelled out, and Airlooms asks you about each one.
- A bank can still ask questions. Getting the signing formalities right is what makes the document hard to refuse.
How to sign it in your state
Pennsylvania
Financial Power of Attorney
The principal signs with two adult witnesses and a notary acknowledgment.
- Witnesses: 2, and they must be present at the signing.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
Who cannot witness: The agent may not witness. The notary may not witness. A person signing for the principal may not witness.
20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5601(b), 5601.3
Agent's Certification of Power of Attorney
Sign using the notarial certificate and capacity shown in the document.
- Witnesses: none required for this signing route. Use them only if the printed signing page calls for them.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
New York
Financial Power of Attorney
The principal signs before a notary and exactly two qualified witnesses.
- Witnesses: 2, and they must be present at the signing.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
Who cannot witness: Do not use an agent or a permissible recipient of gifts as a witness.
N.Y. GOL §§ 5-1501B, 5-1513
Agent's Certification of Power of Attorney
Sign using the notarial certificate and capacity shown in the document.
- Witnesses: none required for this signing route. Use them only if the printed signing page calls for them.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
New Jersey
Financial Power of Attorney
The principal signs before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments.
- Witnesses: none required for this signing route. Use them only if the printed signing page calls for them.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
N.J.S.A. 46:2B-8.9
Agent's Certification of Power of Attorney
Sign using the notarial certificate and capacity shown in the document.
- Witnesses: none required for this signing route. Use them only if the printed signing page calls for them.
- Notary: yes, the signature is acknowledged before a notary.
Get started
Two documents get called "power of attorney" and they do different jobs. This one is about money and property: bank accounts, bills, insurance, benefits, taxes, real estate. Medical decisions are handled by a separate healthcare power of attorney, and an agent under this document has no say in your treatment.
The reason to sign one before you need it is what happens if you do not. Without a valid power of attorney, a family that needs to act for you has to petition the court to appoint a guardian. That means a hearing, an evaluation, legal fees, and continuing reports to the court, while nobody can pay the mortgage in the meantime.
Airlooms includes the pieces that generic forms leave out: the statutory notice Pennsylvania requires at the front of the document, the express grants for gifting and beneficiary changes, and the separate agent acknowledgment your agent signs before acting.
Common questions
What is the difference between a financial power of attorney and a will?
They cover different periods. A power of attorney works while you are alive and unable to act for yourself, and it ends at your death. A will does nothing until you die. Most people need both.
Does a Pennsylvania financial power of attorney have to be notarized?
Yes. Pennsylvania requires the principal's signature to be acknowledged before a notary and witnessed by two adults, and the document must carry the statutory notice signed by the principal. The agent signs a separate acknowledgment before acting.
Can my agent be one of the witnesses?
No. In Pennsylvania the agent named in the document cannot witness it, and neither can the notary or anyone who signed on your behalf. This is one of the most common reasons a downloaded form is later challenged.
What is durable, and do I want it?
Durable means the power continues after you lose capacity, which is the whole point of having one. Pennsylvania treats a power of attorney as durable unless the document says otherwise, and a well-drafted one says so plainly.
Can I cancel it?
Yes, at any time while you have capacity. Do it in writing, tell your agent, and tell every bank or institution holding a copy. Destroying your own copy does not revoke it.
Included in
- Decisions, $29 for 5 documents, 22% less than buying the pieces. See what is in it
- Will & Essentials, $69 for 18 documents, 55% less than buying the pieces. See what is in it
- Trust & Property, $129 for 28 documents, 57% less than buying the pieces. See what is in it