How to Get a Power of Attorney in Michigan: Steps, Signing, and Costs

To get a power of attorney in Michigan, you sign a written document naming a trusted adult as your agent, execute it with either a notary or two qualified witnesses, and have your agent sign an acknowledgment of their duties before they act. Michigan actually uses two separate documents: a financial power of attorney, now governed by the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) since July 1, 2024, and a Patient Advocate Designation for medical decisions under MCL 700.5506. Doing it yourself with the state’s statutory form can cost under $50; hiring an attorney typically runs $150 to $500 for both documents together.

Who Can Sign One

You must be at least 18 and have the mental capacity to understand what you are signing. Capacity means you grasp three things: that you are giving someone else authority to make decisions for you, what kinds of decisions they will be able to make, and how those decisions can affect you and your property.¹ You cannot sign a valid power of attorney after you have already lost that capacity. That is why acting early matters. If you wait until a health crisis hits, the window may already be closed.

Your agent must also be a competent adult. Before writing anyone’s name on the form, have a direct conversation with them about whether they will actually take on the job. Even after you name them, they can decline to serve.¹ Name at least one successor agent in the document so the whole plan does not collapse if your first choice cannot serve.

Decide Which Document You Need

Michigan splits financial and medical authority into two separate documents. Assuming one covers both is a common mistake that leaves gaps.

Financial Power of Attorney

A financial power of attorney lets your agent handle money, property, and legal matters. The scope is up to you. You can grant broad authority over bank accounts, real estate, taxes, and retirement accounts, or limit the agent to a single task like selling one specific property. Michigan’s UPOAA includes a statutory form that lists categories of authority you can grant by initialing next to each one.² Using the statutory form is not required, but a document “substantially” in that form carries the meaning the act prescribes, which makes it easier for banks and other institutions to accept.

Patient Advocate Designation

A Patient Advocate Designation is Michigan’s version of a healthcare power of attorney. It gives your advocate authority to make medical and mental health treatment decisions, but only when you are unable to participate in those decisions yourself.³ Spell out your preferences on specific interventions, end-of-life treatment, and organ donation so your advocate has real guidance instead of having to guess.

Durable or Springing

Most people want a financial POA that is “durable,” meaning it stays effective if you later become incapacitated. Under the UPOAA, a power of attorney is durable only if it is properly executed under the rules below.⁴ Without durability, the agent’s authority vanishes exactly when you need it most.

A “springing” power of attorney takes effect only when a specific triggering event occurs, usually your incapacity. If you go this route, the document should explain exactly how your incapacity will be determined. The State Bar of Michigan recommends spelling out the certification process clearly so there is no ambiguity about when the agent’s authority begins.⁵ Springing POAs can create delays because third parties may want proof that the triggering event has actually happened. An immediately effective durable POA avoids that friction but requires a higher level of trust in your agent.

Complete the Form

Michigan’s statutory form for a financial POA is published within the UPOAA and available through the Michigan Legislature website. It asks for:

Your full legal name as the principal.
The full legal name, address, and phone number of your primary agent.
The same information for one or more successor agents.
The categories of authority you want to grant, chosen by initialing entries such as real estate, banking, investments, taxes, and government benefits.
Any special authorities that require explicit initialing, including making gifts, changing beneficiary designations, or delegating authority to someone else.

The Patient Advocate Designation requires similar identifying information for you and your advocate, plus your written wishes about medical treatment, life-sustaining care, and organ donation. Include a successor advocate in case your first choice cannot serve when the time comes.

Sign It Correctly

Execution is where most homemade powers of attorney fail. The rules differ depending on which document you are signing.

Financial Power of Attorney

Under the UPOAA, you must sign the document yourself, or direct another person to sign your name in your conscious presence. To make the POA durable, you must do one of the following:⁴

Have your signature acknowledged before a notary public, or
Sign in the presence of two witnesses who also sign the document. Neither witness can be named as an agent in the POA.

You can do both, and in practice you should. A notarized signature carries a legal presumption that it is genuine, which matters when banks decide whether to honor the document. A POA that is only witnessed but not notarized does not qualify as “acknowledged” under the UPOAA, which means it will not trigger the mandatory acceptance rules that require third parties to act within set deadlines.⁶ Skip the notary and the bank has no statutory clock to worry about.

Michigan also allows notarial acts to be performed through a remote electronic notarization platform, which can help if you are homebound or hospitalized.⁷

Patient Advocate Designation

A Patient Advocate Designation must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, and the witness restrictions are strict. None of the following people can serve as a witness: your spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known beneficiary under your will, physician, patient advocate, or an employee of your health insurer, the facility treating you, or a residential care home where you live.³ Notarization is not required for a Patient Advocate Designation, though some people add it for extra credibility.

Get Your Agent’s Acknowledgment

Under the UPOAA, your agent must sign an acknowledgment of their responsibilities before they can exercise any authority. The statutory form includes an Agent’s Acknowledgment section where the agent confirms they understand their duties and the consequences of violating them.² Without this signed acceptance, the agent has no authority to act. This is a change from the pre-2024 law, and people relying on older templates often miss it.

Once your agent accepts, they owe you fiduciary duties that cannot be waived: acting in your best interest and according to your known wishes, acting in good faith, staying within the authority you granted, and keeping reasonable records of everything received, spent, and transacted on your behalf. An agent who embezzles or wrongfully converts your property faces liability for triple the value taken.⁸

Distribute and Record

Keep the signed original somewhere secure but accessible. A fireproof safe at home is fine, as long as at least one trusted person knows where to find it. Give copies to your agent and any successor agents. Banks and investment firms routinely require a copy on file before allowing an agent to access accounts.

If your POA grants authority over real property, file a copy with the Register of Deeds in the Michigan county where the property sits. That creates a public record protecting the chain of title if your agent later needs to sell, mortgage, or transfer the property. Recording fees are generally around $30 per document.⁹

For a Patient Advocate Designation, give a copy to your primary care physician and any hospital where you receive regular treatment. In an emergency, medical staff will look for the document in your records. A copy locked in a safe deposit box will not help you.

What It Costs

Michigan caps notary fees at $10 per notarial act, though a notary who travels to you can charge a separate agreed travel fee.¹⁰ Recording with the Register of Deeds for real estate authority runs roughly $30.⁹

Using Michigan’s free statutory form and handling the signing yourself, total out-of-pocket cost can be under $50. Hiring an attorney to draft a customized document typically runs $150 to $500, depending on complexity and the attorney’s location. That fee often covers both the financial POA and Patient Advocate Designation as part of a basic estate planning package.

Why It Is Worth Doing

If you become incapacitated without a power of attorney in place, your family cannot simply step in. Someone must petition the probate court for appointment as your guardian for personal and medical decisions, or as your conservator for financial matters. The court must find by clear and convincing evidence that you are incapacitated and that the appointment is necessary.¹¹ The process is slow, public, and expensive. The court may appoint someone you would not have chosen. A power of attorney costs a small fraction of a guardianship proceeding and keeps the choice in your hands.

Revoking or Changing It Later

You can revoke your power of attorney at any time as long as you still have capacity. Revocation does not require a special form, but putting it in writing and giving notice to your agent and any third party holding a copy is the only reliable way to make sure everyone knows the authority has ended. Signing a new POA does not automatically cancel an old one unless the new document specifically says so.¹²

A power of attorney also ends automatically when:

You die. The agent’s authority ends immediately.
Your agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns and no successor is named.
Divorce or legal separation proceedings are filed between you and your agent, unless the document says otherwise.
The document’s stated purpose is accomplished, for a POA created for a single limited task.

Anyone who acts in good faith under a POA without actual knowledge that it has ended is protected from liability.¹³ That protects your agent from being blamed for actions taken before word reaches them, and it is exactly why prompt written notice to banks and other third parties matters when you revoke.

1
Michigan Legal Help. Making a Power of Attorney for Legal and Financial Decisions
2
Michigan Legislature. Uniform Power of Attorney Act Article 3 – Statutory Forms
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 700.5506 – Patient Advocate Designation
4
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 556.205 – Execution of Power of Attorney
5
State Bar of Michigan. Durable Power of Attorney
6
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 556.220 – Acceptance of Acknowledged Power of Attorney
7
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 55.286b – Remote Electronic Notarization
8
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 556.214 – Agent Duties, Liability, Breach of Fiduciary Duty
9
Monroe County, MI. Schedule of Fees for Recording and Filing
10
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 55.285 – Michigan Law on Notarial Acts
11
Michigan Courts. Introduction to Conservatorships and Guardianships
12
Michigan Legislature. Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Section 110
13
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 556.210 – Termination of Power of Attorney or Agent Authority