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

New Hampshire adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) as RSA 564-E, effective January 1, 2018, amended in 2021 to cover digital assets. Under this framework, a power of attorney (POA) lets a principal authorize an agent (also called an attorney-in-fact) to manage financial, property, and legal affairs. One important feature sets New Hampshire apart from many states: a POA created under RSA 564-E is durable by default, meaning it survives the principal's incapacity unless the document expressly states otherwise. Healthcare decisions require an entirely separate instrument governed by RSA 137-J, the state's advance directive statute.

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

What a Power of Attorney Does in New Hampshire

A power of attorney is a written legal document through which a principal grants an agent authority to act on the principal's behalf. The scope of that authority is determined by what the document expressly grants, together with the actions reasonably necessary to carry it out. A broadly drafted financial POA can authorize an agent to manage bank accounts, buy and sell real estate, handle investments, file taxes, operate a business, and take other legal actions the principal could personally perform.

New Hampshire's UPOAA framework in RSA 564-E provides a complete set of rules for financial and property POAs. Article 2 of that chapter (RSA 564-E:204 through 564-E:217) defines the scope of authority for each subject matter category, including real property, personal property, stocks and bonds, banking, business operations, insurance and annuities, estates and trusts, claims and litigation, personal and family maintenance, government benefits, retirement plans, and taxes.

Agents under a New Hampshire POA act in a fiduciary capacity and are legally obligated to serve the principal's interests, not their own. The POA gives the agent no authority to make healthcare or medical decisions; that requires a separate advance directive under RSA 137-J.

Durable Power of Attorney in New Hampshire

In most states a POA is non-durable by default, which means it lapses the moment the principal loses mental capacity. New Hampshire reversed that default. Under RSA 564-E:104, "a power of attorney created under this chapter is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." A principal who wants a non-durable POA must write that limitation into the document; silence means the POA is durable.

This default-durable rule matters most during a medical crisis. Because the POA survives incapacity without any special language, the agent can continue managing the principal's finances, paying bills, and handling property transactions even if the principal is hospitalized or cognitively impaired.

RSA 564-E also permits springing POAs, which take effect only upon the occurrence of a specified future event or condition (RSA 564-E:109). A springing POA is dormant until the triggering condition is satisfied. The principal may authorize a specific person to determine whether the condition has occurred, or may rely on a written determination of incapacity by one or more licensed physicians.

Under RSA 564-E:110, a power of attorney terminates when: the principal dies; the principal becomes incapacitated and the POA is non-durable; the principal revokes the POA; the document itself provides for termination; the purpose of the POA is accomplished; or the named agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns and no successor agent is named.

How to Create a Valid New Hampshire Power of Attorney

Signing and Notarization

Execution requirements under RSA 564-E:105 vary by type of POA.

For a general financial POA, the document must be signed by the principal (or by another person at the principal's direction in the principal's presence) and acknowledged before a notary public or other authorized officer. The statute also requires inclusion of a mandatory disclosure statement, which advises the principal of the broad scope of authority being granted, the document's continuance through incapacity, the right to revoke, and the recommendation to seek legal advice. A signature acknowledged before a notary or justice of the peace is presumed genuine under RSA 564-E:105.

For a real estate POA specifically, the document must be signed by the principal and acknowledged before a notary public to be recorded.

For other, more limited POAs, only the principal's signature is required.

Agent Acknowledgment

Under RSA 564-E:113, an agent acting under a general POA must sign a written acknowledgment, substantially in the form set out in the statute, before exercising authority. That acknowledgment confirms the agent's understanding of the fiduciary duties imposed, the prohibition on self-dealing, and that the agent's authority ends at the principal's death. The agent does not need to sign at the time the POA document is executed; the acknowledgment can be signed later but must precede the agent's first exercise of authority.

Capacity and Form

The principal must be a competent adult at the time of signing. New Hampshire provides an optional statutory form power of attorney in RSA 564-E:301, which includes checkboxes for each category of authority. Principals may use this form, adapt it, or use a custom-drafted document, as long as execution requirements are met.

What a New Hampshire Agent Can and Cannot Do

General Financial Powers

An agent's authority is limited to what the document grants. A broadly drafted POA can authorize the agent to:

• Manage and transact with bank and financial accounts (RSA 564-E:208)
• Buy, sell, lease, mortgage, and otherwise manage real property (RSA 564-E:204)
• Handle stocks, bonds, and investment accounts (RSA 564-E:206)
• Operate or sell a business (RSA 564-E:209)
• Pay taxes and file tax returns for up to 25 following years (RSA 564-E:216)
• Apply for and manage government benefits and retirement plan distributions (RSA 564-E:214, 564-E:215)
• Maintain the principal's personal and family living arrangements and support obligations (RSA 564-E:213)

Hot Powers Requiring Express Grant

RSA 564-E:201 lists actions that are so consequential that an agent cannot take them unless the document specifically and expressly grants that authority. These "hot powers" include:

• Creating, amending, revoking, or terminating an inter vivos (living) trust
• Making gifts of the principal's property (with restrictions to prevent the principal from being left without adequate resources)
• Creating or changing rights of survivorship in property
• Changing beneficiary designations on insurance policies, retirement accounts, or other instruments
• Delegating the agent's own authority to another person
• Waiving the principal's rights in a joint and survivor annuity
• Exercising delegable fiduciary powers the principal holds over another's property
• Exercising authority over the principal's electronic communications and digital assets (per RSA 554-A:9)

These powers are not implied by a general grant of authority. A principal who wants the agent to have any of these abilities must grant each one in the document by name.

What an Agent Cannot Do

Even under a broad New Hampshire POA, an agent cannot:

• Make or change the principal's will (testamentary acts require personal action by the testator)
• Make healthcare or medical decisions (those require a separate advance directive under RSA 137-J)
• Act after the principal's death (authority ends at death; the estate passes to an executor)
• Vote on the principal's behalf
• Exercise any hot power not expressly granted
• Use the principal's property for the agent's own benefit unless the document expressly authorizes it

Agent Duties

Under RSA 564-E:114, an agent must: act in accordance with the principal's reasonable expectations or, if unknown, the principal's best interest; act in good faith; act only within the scope of authority granted; act loyally and avoid conflicts of interest; exercise reasonable care and diligence; keep records of all receipts, disbursements, and transactions; and cooperate with the principal's healthcare decision-maker. Upon written request, the agent must provide an accounting within 60 days (7 days for healthcare-related matters).

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care in New Hampshire

New Hampshire addresses healthcare decision-making through a completely separate statute: RSA 137-J, titled "Written Directives for Medical Decision Making for Adults Without Capacity to Make Health Care Decisions." A financial POA under RSA 564-E expressly does not apply to healthcare decisions (RSA 564-E:103(2)). These are distinct documents with distinct legal frameworks.

What RSA 137-J Covers

An advance directive under RSA 137-J can include both a durable power of attorney for health care (designating an agent to make medical decisions) and a living will (stating the principal's own wishes about life-sustaining treatment when permanently unconscious or in an advanced life-limiting condition). The two can be combined in a single document or kept separate.

When the principal lacks capacity, the designated healthcare agent has authority to make any and all healthcare decisions the principal could make, including decisions about life-sustaining treatment, access to medical records, and consent to medical procedures (RSA 137-J:5).

The agent must make decisions in accordance with the principal's known wishes and religious or moral beliefs; if those are unknown, the agent acts in the principal's best interest (RSA 137-J:6).

Execution Requirements

Under RSA 137-J:14, the advance directive must be signed by the principal (or by another person at the principal's direction in the principal's physical presence) in the presence of either:

• Two witnesses who affirm that the principal appeared to be of sound mind and free from duress. Neither witness may be the named agent, the principal's spouse, an heir, a beneficiary under the principal's will or trust, or the attending medical practitioner or anyone working directly under that practitioner. No more than one witness may be employed by a healthcare or residential care provider.
• Or a notary public or justice of the peace, acknowledging the principal's signature.

The principal must also receive and review a disclosure statement (RSA 137-J:19) before executing the directive.

Limitations on the Healthcare Agent

Under RSA 137-J:5, even with full authority, the healthcare agent cannot consent to: voluntary admission of the principal to a state institution; voluntary sterilization; withholding life-sustaining treatment if the principal is pregnant and such treatment would maintain the pregnancy (with certain exceptions); or psychosurgery or electroconvulsive shock therapy.

The healthcare agent cannot be the principal's attending practitioner or a non-relative employee of the principal's healthcare or residential care provider (RSA 137-J:8).

When the Directive Takes Effect

The healthcare agent's authority activates only after the attending practitioner certifies in the medical record that the principal lacks capacity to make or communicate healthcare decisions. If the principal later regains capacity, the agent's authority pauses (RSA 137-J:5).

Revoking or Ending a New Hampshire Power of Attorney

Revoking a Financial POA

A principal may revoke a financial POA at any time while they retain legal capacity. There is no prescribed form for revocation, but written notice delivered to the agent is the recommended approach. Best practice also includes notifying any financial institutions or other third parties who have relied on the document. If the POA was recorded at the registry of deeds for a real estate transaction, recording a written revocation gives constructive notice.

Under RSA 564-E:110, revocation of an agent's authority is not effective against an agent or third party who acts in good faith without actual knowledge of the revocation. This means prompt written notice to all relevant parties is essential to cut off the agent's ability to bind the principal.

If a petition for divorce, annulment, legal separation, or nullity is filed with respect to the agent's marriage to the principal, the agent-spouse's authority under the POA is terminated unless the document states otherwise (RSA 564-E:110(b)(3)).

Revoking a Healthcare Advance Directive

Under RSA 137-J:15, an advance directive may be revoked at any time by: a signed and dated written statement; an oral statement before two qualified witnesses; or a physical act such as burning, tearing, or obliterating the document with intent to revoke. A subsequent advance directive also revokes the earlier one. Revocation is effective when communicated to the attending practitioner, who must record it immediately in the medical record. Filing an action for divorce, legal separation, annulment, or a protective order (where both the agent and principal are parties) also revokes the designation of a spouse as healthcare agent (RSA 137-J:15).

Automatic Termination

Any New Hampshire power of attorney, durable or not, terminates automatically at the principal's death. No POA survives death. At that point, authority passes to the executor or personal representative of the estate. A durable POA survives incapacity but not death.

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

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