How to Fill Out and Sign a Connecticut Power of Attorney Form

The Connecticut power of attorney form is a state-approved document, available as a free PDF through the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s law library, that lets you (the “principal”) name someone (your “agent”) to handle financial and legal matters for you.¹ To complete it, you fill in your information and your agent’s information, strike out any of the thirteen default powers you don’t want to grant, add any special instructions, and sign in front of two witnesses and a notary. Under the Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney created on this form is automatically durable, meaning it stays in effect if you later become incapacitated, unless you write in that you want it to end at incapacity.²

Choose the Short Form or the Long Form First

Connecticut’s statute provides two templates. Both share the same thirteen core categories of authority and the same mechanics. The long form adds a set of optional estate planning powers, labeled (O) through (W), that the short form does not include.³ Those cover creating or amending trusts, making gifts, changing beneficiary designations, changing survivorship rights, delegating fiduciary powers, disclaiming inherited property, and managing digital assets and intellectual property.

The optional powers in the long form work in the opposite direction from the core list: your agent may not use them unless you affirmatively initial each one you want to grant. If you need your agent to make gifts, change beneficiaries, or amend a trust for you, use the long form. If you just want someone to handle banking, bills, property, and taxes, the short form is enough.

Fill In Your Information and Name Your Agent

Enter your full legal name and current residential address in the spaces at the top. Use the exact name that appears on your financial accounts, deeds, and other legal documents. Name inconsistencies are one of the most common reasons banks push back on the document.

Then enter the full legal name and address of the person you want to serve as your agent. Connecticut law also lets you name coagents and successor agents. If you name two or more coagents, they must act jointly unless you include the word “severally” in the document, which lets each act independently.⁴ Joint action adds oversight but can slow down routine transactions when both signatures are required.

Successor agents step in only after all predecessor agents have resigned, died, become incapacitated, or declined to serve. A successor receives the same authority as the original agent unless you specify otherwise.⁴ Naming at least one successor is a practical safeguard. List each successor’s information with the same precision as your primary agent’s.

Strike Out the Powers You Don’t Want

This is where most people go wrong. Every power on the list is granted to your agent by default. You do not initial lines to add powers. Instead, you strike out any power you do not want your agent to have by drawing a line through that category’s text and writing your initials in the box next to it.³ If you leave a category untouched, your agent has full authority over that subject as defined in the statute.

The thirteen categories, labeled (A) through (M), are:

(A) Real property: buying, selling, managing, and mortgaging land and buildings.
(B) Tangible personal property: vehicles, furniture, equipment, and similar physical belongings.
(C) Stocks and bonds: securities transactions and brokerage accounts.
(D) Commodities and options: futures contracts and options trading.
(E) Banks and financial institutions: opening, closing, and managing bank accounts.
(F) Business operations: forming, running, or dissolving a business entity.
(G) Insurance and annuities: buying, modifying, or cashing in policies.
(H) Estates, trusts, and beneficial interests: managing interests you hold in trusts or estates.
(I) Claims and litigation: pursuing or defending lawsuits and settling claims.
(J) Personal and family maintenance: paying household bills, supporting dependents.
(K) Government benefits: applying for or managing Social Security, Medicare, VA benefits, and similar programs.
(L) Retirement plans: managing IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions, and similar accounts.
(M) Taxes: filing returns, paying taxes, and dealing with tax authorities.

A fourteenth category, (N), grants any remaining general authority. Striking out even one of the categories (A) through (M) automatically eliminates category (N) as well.³ Each category’s scope is defined in its own section of the statute, so your agent’s authority is only as broad as the statutory definition.

Use Special Instructions to Tailor the Document

The Special Instructions section is where you narrow, expand, or condition the authority you’re granting. You can limit real property transactions to a single address, restrict access to specific accounts by listing account numbers, or require your agent to consult with a named family member before selling property. You can also state that the document only takes effect on a future event, which is covered below.

The short form does not include the long form’s optional estate planning powers. If you write gift-making authority into the Special Instructions of a short form, the legal footing is less clear than simply using the long form, which has a dedicated framework for those powers. Under Connecticut law, gift-making authority must be expressly granted and is limited by default to the annual federal gift tax exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient in 2026.⁵⁶

Decide When the Document Takes Effect

Unless you include language saying otherwise, your power of attorney takes effect the moment you sign it.⁷ Your agent can act on your behalf immediately, even while you are perfectly healthy.

If you prefer that the document only kick in when you can no longer manage your own affairs, you can create a “springing” power of attorney by writing in the Special Instructions that the POA becomes effective upon a specified event, such as your incapacity. You must also name a person in the document who will execute a sworn affidavit confirming the triggering event has occurred.⁷ If the triggering event is your incapacity and you haven’t named someone to make that determination, two independent physicians must provide a written determination that you are incapacitated before the agent’s authority begins.

Because a POA under Connecticut’s act is durable by default, it survives your incapacity.² If you want the document to end at incapacity rather than continue through it, you must expressly say so.

Sign, Witness, and Notarize

The document must be dated and signed by you. If you are physically unable to sign, you can direct another person to sign your name in your conscious physical presence.⁸ Two witnesses must observe you signing.

Notarization is not technically required for the power of attorney to be valid. However, having your signature acknowledged before a notary public or a commissioner of the Superior Court creates a legal presumption that your signature is genuine.⁸ Always get the document notarized. Without that acknowledgment, banks and other institutions are far more likely to refuse the document or demand extra verification. An acknowledged POA also triggers the statutory acceptance rules described below.

If your agent will handle real estate transactions, the power of attorney should be recorded in the land records of the town where the property is located. A POA used to convey title to real estate in Connecticut must be signed, dated, witnessed by two people, and acknowledged by a notary.

Make Sure Banks Will Actually Honor It

Presenting a valid POA to a bank or brokerage and being turned away is a common frustration. Connecticut law addresses this. A third party presented with an acknowledged power of attorney must either accept it or request a certification, translation, or opinion of counsel within seven business days. If the third party requests one of those items, it must accept the document within five business days of receiving it. The third party cannot demand that you use its own proprietary POA form instead of the statutory one.⁹

There are exceptions. A third party may refuse if you wouldn’t otherwise qualify for the transaction, if acceptance would violate federal or state law, if the third party knows the POA has been terminated, if a requested certification is refused, if the third party has a good-faith belief the document is invalid, or if a report of suspected elder abuse has been made involving the agent.⁹

If a third party refuses without a valid reason, a probate court or superior court can order acceptance and award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. These protections apply specifically to an acknowledged power of attorney, which is why notarization is worth the small effort it takes.

Changing or Revoking It Later

You can revoke the document at any time while you are mentally competent. The cleanest approach is to sign a written revocation, have it notarized, and deliver copies to your agent and every institution that received the original. If the POA was recorded in land records, record the revocation in the same office.

Signing a new POA does not automatically revoke an earlier one. The new document must explicitly state that it revokes the previous POA, or that all prior powers of attorney are revoked.¹⁰ Without that language, both documents could remain in effect at the same time.

One Limit to Know About: IRS Representation

Granting your agent authority over category (M), taxes, lets them file your state and federal returns, pay taxes, and handle correspondence with tax agencies. It does not, on its own, let your agent represent you directly before the IRS. The IRS requires its own Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, and the representative must be someone eligible to practice before the IRS, such as an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent.¹¹ If tax disputes or audits are a real possibility, plan on having both documents in place.

1
Connecticut Judicial Branch. Connecticut Law About Powers of Attorney
2
Justia. Connecticut Code 1-350c – Power of Attorney Is Durable
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 1-352 – Power of Attorney Short Form, Long Form and Optional Information Form
4
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 15c – Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 1-350j
5
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 15c – Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 1-351p
6
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes
7
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 15c – Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 1-350h
8
Justia. Connecticut Code 1-350d – Execution of Power of Attorney
9
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 15c – Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 1-350s
10
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 15c – Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 1-350i
11
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative