Michigan Power of Attorney Laws: Durable, Medical, and Financial POA (2026)

Michigan joined the modern wave of power of attorney reform when it enacted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) as Public Act 187 of 2023, codified at MCL 556.201 through 556.505 and effective July 1, 2024. Michigan's enactment is among the most recent in the country, making it one of the last major UPOAA adoptions. Under the new act, a properly executed POA is durable by default, meaning it survives the principal's incapacity automatically unless the document says otherwise. A separate document, the patient advocate designation under MCL 700.5506, governs healthcare decisions.

For the full 50-state overview, see our national Power of Attorney guide.

What a Power of Attorney Does in Michigan

A power of attorney is a written record by which a principal grants authority to an agent to act on the principal's behalf in one or more matters. Under MCL 556.202, a "power of attorney" means a written record that grants authority to an agent to act in one or more matters on behalf of the principal. An "agent" includes the original agent, any coagent, a successor agent, and any person to whom the agent's authority is properly delegated.

The scope of authority can be broad, covering banking, real estate, tax matters, and business operations, or narrow, limited to a single transaction. Either way, the agent acts in a fiduciary capacity. Under MCL 556.214, an agent must act in good faith, follow the principal's reasonable expectations, act only within the scope of authority granted, maintain records of all transactions, serve loyally for the principal's benefit, avoid conflicts of interest, and exercise the care and diligence that a prudent person handling another's property would use.

A POA ends at the principal's death. After death, the agent's authority ceases entirely. Estate matters then pass to an executor or administrator, not the former agent.

Michigan's New Uniform Power of Attorney Act (Effective July 1, 2024)

Prior to July 1, 2024, Michigan's financial power of attorney law was governed by older statutory provisions that Act 187 of 2023 replaced wholesale, bringing Michigan into alignment with the UPOAA model adopted by dozens of other states. The prior durable POA provisions at MCL 700.5501 through 700.5505 were repealed effective July 1, 2024.

The new act is comprehensive. It covers definitions, execution requirements, agent duties, a statutory form, acceptance by third parties, and agent liability. Under MCL 556.201, the statute may be cited as the "uniform power of attorney act."

Act 187 is not limited to new documents. Under MCL 556.503, the act applies to a power of attorney created before, on, or after July 1, 2024. An older Michigan POA is therefore governed today by the act's rules on agent duties (MCL 556.214), termination (MCL 556.210), hot powers (MCL 556.301), third-party acceptance, and agent liability (MCL 556.217).

What remains under the earlier law is narrower than that. The execution and durability rules in MCL 556.204 and MCL 556.205 apply by their own terms only to a POA created on or after July 1, 2024, so whether an older document was validly signed and whether it is durable are still judged under the law in force when it was executed. MCL 556.206(1) separately preserves a POA that complied with Michigan execution requirements at the time it was signed, and an act already done before July 1, 2024 is unaffected. In a court case that was already underway on July 1, 2024, a judge may also decline to apply a provision of the act where doing so would disrupt the proceeding or prejudice a party.

One of the most significant changes from the prior law is the default durability rule. Under the prior Michigan framework, a POA was non-durable unless it expressly stated it would survive incapacity. Under Act 187, a properly executed POA is durable by default: it continues in effect through the principal's incapacity unless the document expressly provides that it is terminated by the principal's incapacity. Principals who want a non-durable POA must include language saying so.

How to Create a Valid Michigan Power of Attorney

Signing Requirements

Under MCL 556.205, a Michigan POA must be signed by the principal. If the principal is unable to sign personally, another individual may sign the principal's name at the principal's direction and in the principal's conscious presence.

Notary or Two Witnesses

To be durable, the document must satisfy one of two execution methods under MCL 556.205:

Option 1: Notary acknowledgment. The principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments. This method creates a presumption that the principal's signature is genuine.

Option 2: Two witnesses. The document is signed in the presence of two witnesses, both of whom also sign the POA. Neither witness may be an agent named in the power of attorney. One of the two witnesses may also act as a notary in the same execution, but the named agent cannot serve as a witness under any circumstance.

To be durable, a POA signed by someone else at the principal's direction must be witnessed by two individuals, whether or not it is also notarized (MCL 556.205(3)). The directed signature itself is what makes the document effective; the two witnesses are what allow it to survive the principal's incapacity.

Recording the POA with a county register of deeds is not required for validity, but it is advisable when the POA will be used for real estate transactions.

Statutory Form

Michigan's Act 187 includes a statutory form power of attorney under MCL 556.401. The form covers standard financial subjects including real property, tangible personal property, financial instruments, banking, business operations, insurance and annuities, estates and trusts, legal claims, government benefits, retirement plans, and tax matters. The principal grants authority over each subject by initialing the relevant line, which provides a clear record of intended scope. An online generator offers another route to a first draft: it can draft a Michigan power of attorney from your answers, which you then take through the notary or two-witness signing described above.

What a Michigan Agent Can and Cannot Do

General Financial Authority

When a POA grants general authority over a subject, the agent may take all lawful actions with respect to that subject, including entering contracts, filing documents, engaging professionals, and settling disputes on the principal's behalf (MCL 556.303). An act performed by an agent under a POA has the same legal effect as if the principal had performed it personally.

Fiduciary Duties

Under MCL 556.214, an agent who accepts appointment must:

• Act in good faith and in the principal's best interest
• Remain within the scope of authority granted in the document
• Follow the principal's known reasonable expectations
• Maintain records of receipts, disbursements, and transactions
• Exercise care, competence, and diligence appropriate to a prudent person managing another's property
• Serve loyally and avoid conflicts of interest that impair impartial judgment
• Cooperate with any person with authority to make health care decisions for the principal

An agent with professional skills is held to a higher standard consistent with those skills. Under MCL 556.217, an agent who violates these duties must restore the value of the principal's property to what it would have been had the violation not occurred, and must reimburse any attorney fees and costs that were paid on the agent's behalf to defend the conduct that caused the violation. That is a clawback of the agent's own defense costs, not a general right for the principal to recover their litigation expenses. If the agent embezzles or wrongfully converts the principal's property, liability rises to three times the property value.

Hot Powers Requiring Express Authorization

Certain powers carry heightened risk of abuse and cannot be exercised unless the POA document expressly grants them. Under MCL 556.301, an agent may not exercise the following powers unless the document specifically authorizes each one:

1. Create, amend, revoke, or terminate an inter vivos trust
2. Make a gift
3. Create or change rights of survivorship
4. Create or change a beneficiary designation
5. Delegate authority granted under the power of attorney
6. Waive the principal's right as a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity
7. Exercise delegable fiduciary powers the principal has authority to delegate
8. Exercise authority over the content of the principal's electronic communications
9. Exercise authority over any bank, securities, or financial account in a foreign country

An agent who is not an ancestor, spouse, or descendant of the principal faces an additional restriction: even with a grant of general authority, such an agent cannot use the principal's property to benefit themselves or their dependents unless the POA expressly permits it. If you want an agent to be able to make gifts, change beneficiaries, or manage a trust, ask a Michigan estate planning lawyer for a free case evaluation on writing those grants in expressly (attorney advertising).

Patient Advocate Designation: Michigan's Medical POA

A Michigan financial POA does not authorize healthcare decisions. Medical and mental health decision-making is handled under a completely separate legal instrument: the patient advocate designation, governed by MCL 700.5506 and MCL 700.5507 of the Estates and Protected Individuals Code.

Any person 18 years of age or older who is of sound mind may designate another person 18 or older to serve as a patient advocate. The patient advocate can exercise powers concerning the patient's care, custody, and medical or mental health treatment decisions when the patient is unable to participate in those decisions.

Execution Requirements for a Patient Advocate Designation

The execution requirements differ meaningfully from those for a financial POA. A patient advocate designation must be:

• In writing and signed by the patient
• Dated and executed voluntarily
• Witnessed by two individuals who sign the document in the patient's presence

The two-witness requirement is strict. Under MCL 700.5506(4), a witness may not be the patient's spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, or known devisee. A witness also may not be the patient's physician, the named patient advocate, an employee of a life or health insurance provider for the patient, an employee of a health facility treating the patient, an employee of a home for the aged where the patient resides, or an employee of a community mental health services program or hospital providing mental health treatment to the patient.

A witness must not sign the designation if the patient appears to lack sound mind or appears to be under duress, fraud, or undue influence. Before the designation takes effect, it must be made part of the patient's medical record with the relevant healthcare provider.

Scope and Limits of a Patient Advocate's Authority

The patient advocate's authority activates only when the patient is unable to participate in medical or mental health treatment decisions. An advocate may also be authorized to make anatomical gift decisions, and that authority remains exercisable after the patient's death.

Key limitations under MCL 700.5507 include:

• A patient advocate cannot withhold or withdraw treatment from a pregnant patient if doing so would result in the patient's death
• An advocate may authorize withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment only if the patient previously expressed that choice in a clear and convincing manner
• An advocate must act as a fiduciary and in the patient's best interest
• An advocate may not receive compensation but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses

A patient may revoke a patient advocate designation at any time. The one exception is a mental health patient advocate designation, for which the patient may waive revocation rights for up to 30 days.

Revoking or Ending a Michigan Power of Attorney

How to Revoke a Financial POA

A principal may revoke a Michigan POA at any time while they have the legal capacity to do so. Under MCL 556.210, the principal's revocation terminates the power. Although the statute does not require written revocation, a written notice delivered to the agent is the most effective method to ensure the agent has actual knowledge of the termination.

Because termination is not effective against a third party or agent who acts in good faith without actual knowledge of it, a principal should also notify any financial institutions or other parties that hold copies of the POA.

Automatic Termination Events

Under MCL 556.210, a Michigan financial POA terminates automatically upon:

• The principal's death
• Incapacity of the principal, if the POA is non-durable
• Revocation by the principal
• A specified event or date written into the document
• Accomplishment of the POA's stated limited purpose

An agent's individual authority also terminates if the agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns without a named successor agent, or if a court filing for dissolution or annulment of the agent's marriage to the principal is made (unless the document provides otherwise).

A durable POA does not survive death. Whatever authority the agent held ends at the moment of the principal's death, at which point only the personal representative of the estate may act.

Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about Michigan power of attorney laws and is not legal advice. Laws change, and individual circumstances vary. Consult a licensed Michigan attorney for advice specific to your situation.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of May 31, 2026.

More Michigan Laws

• Michigan Alimony Laws
• Michigan Divorce Laws
• Michigan Probate Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Michigan power of attorney durable by default?

Yes, under Act 187 of 2023, a Michigan POA that is properly executed under MCL 556.205 is durable by default, meaning it remains effective if the principal becomes incapacitated. To make a POA non-durable, the document must expressly state that it terminates upon the principal's incapacity. This reverses the old Michigan rule, under which a POA was non-durable unless the document said otherwise.

Does a Michigan power of attorney need to be notarized?

Not necessarily. Under MCL 556.205, a Michigan POA becomes durable if the principal's signature is either acknowledged before a notary public, or witnessed by two people who also sign the document (neither of whom can be the named agent). Both options satisfy the execution requirement. Notarization creates a presumption of a genuine signature, but the two-witness route is equally valid.

What is the difference between a Michigan financial POA and a patient advocate designation?

They are entirely separate documents serving different purposes. A financial POA under MCL 556.201-556.505 authorizes an agent to handle financial, legal, and property matters. A patient advocate designation under MCL 700.5506 authorizes a different person to make medical and mental health decisions when the patient cannot. A financial POA cannot authorize healthcare decisions, and a patient advocate designation does not cover finances.

Who can be a witness for a Michigan power of attorney?

For a financial POA under MCL 556.205, any adult who is not the named agent can serve as a witness. For a patient advocate designation under MCL 700.5506, the restrictions are much stricter: a witness cannot be the patient's spouse, parent, child, grandchild, sibling, presumptive heir, known devisee, physician, the named patient advocate, or any employee of the patient's insurer, health facility, home for the aged, or mental health service provider.

Can a Michigan agent make gifts under a power of attorney?

Not automatically. Gift-making is a hot power under MCL 556.301, which means the POA document must expressly authorize it before the agent may make any gifts of the principal's property. An agent who is not an ancestor, spouse, or descendant of the principal faces additional self-dealing restrictions even if gifting is expressly authorized.

When does a Michigan power of attorney end?

Under MCL 556.210, a Michigan POA terminates upon the principal's death, the principal's revocation, a termination event specified in the document, or accomplishment of the document's stated purpose. A non-durable POA also ends if the principal becomes incapacitated. A durable POA survives incapacity but not death. At death, only the estate's personal representative has authority to act.

Does Michigan's new UPOAA apply to older powers of attorney?

Yes. Under MCL 556.503, Act 187 applies to a power of attorney created before, on, or after its July 1, 2024 effective date. An older Michigan POA is still subject to the act's rules on agent duties, termination, hot powers, third-party acceptance and refusal, and agent liability. What stays under the earlier law is narrower: whether the older document was validly executed and whether it is durable are judged under MCL 556.204 and MCL 556.205, which by their own terms reach only POAs created on or after July 1, 2024, and MCL 556.206(1) preserves a POA that complied with Michigan execution requirements when it was signed. Anything an agent already did before July 1, 2024 is unaffected. If you have an older Michigan POA and are uncertain whether it still meets your needs, consult a Michigan attorney.