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

Tennessee governs durable financial powers of attorney under its own Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, Tenn. Code sections 34-6-101 to 34-6-112. Tennessee has not adopted the 2006 Uniform Power of Attorney Act used by more than 30 states. For a financial POA to remain valid after the principal becomes incapacitated, the document must contain express durability language. Healthcare decisions require a completely separate instrument under Tenn. Code sections 34-6-201 to 34-6-218.

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

What a Power of Attorney Does in Tennessee

A power of attorney is a written legal document in which one person, the principal, gives another person, the agent (also called the attorney-in-fact), authority to act on the principal's behalf. The scope can be broad, covering banking, real estate, investments, and general financial management, or narrow, limited to a single transaction. The authority granted exists only while the principal is alive; a Tennessee POA ends the moment the principal dies.

Tennessee divides power of attorney into two separate legal tracks. Financial authority is governed by the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act at Tenn. Code sections 34-6-101 to 34-6-112. Healthcare decision-making authority is governed by a completely separate statute, the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, at Tenn. Code sections 34-6-201 to 34-6-218. A financial POA does not give the agent authority over medical decisions, and a health care POA does not authorize financial transactions. Many Tennesseans sign both.

Durable Power of Attorney in Tennessee

By default, a power of attorney in Tennessee ends if the principal later becomes mentally incapacitated. To make a POA survive incapacity, the document must be made durable through express language. Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-102, a durable power of attorney is one that contains language such as:

• "This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal," or
• "This power of attorney shall become effective upon the disability or incapacity of the principal," or
• Similar words showing the principal's intent that authority continues notwithstanding subsequent disability or incapacity.

The second phrase creates what is commonly called a springing durable POA, one that takes effect only when incapacity occurs. While a springing POA may seem appealing, it can create practical delays when institutions demand proof that the triggering condition has been met. Tennessee addresses part of that problem directly. Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-111, a POA whose effective date is deferred until the principal is determined to be disabled or incapacitated is nevertheless effective at the date of signing for one limited purpose: the named agent immediately becomes the principal's personal representative under the HIPAA rules, with authority to access the principal's medical records and to speak with treating physicians and other medical personnel in order to determine whether the incapacity trigger has been met. Even so, most estate planning attorneys in Tennessee recommend a durable POA effective immediately upon signing.

Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-103, all acts done by an agent under a durable POA during any period of disability or incapacity of the principal have the same legal effect as if the principal were fully competent. This is the core protection a durable POA provides.

Tennessee has not adopted the 2006 Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA). Unlike states that follow the UPOAA, where a POA is durable by default, Tennessee requires the express durability language described above. Without it, a POA ends at incapacity, which defeats the document's primary purpose for most principals. If an existing Tennessee POA lacks that wording, ask an estate planning lawyer for a free case evaluation on adding durability language while the principal can still sign (attorney advertising).

How to Create a Valid Tennessee Power of Attorney

To create a valid Tennessee financial durable POA, the principal must have mental capacity at the time of signing and the document must be in writing and signed by the principal. Tennessee's Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act does not impose a statutory witness requirement for a general financial POA. Tennessee still requires the specific durability wording discussed above if the document is meant to survive incapacity, and an online generator can generate a Tennessee power of attorney for the principal to review before signing and notarizing. If the principal is physically unable to sign, another person may sign at the principal's direction and in the principal's presence.

Notarization is not required by statute for a financial POA to be legally valid between the principal and the agent. However, two practical considerations make notarization strongly advisable. First, financial institutions and other third parties are far more likely to accept and rely on a notarized POA without delay. Second, if the agent will need to conduct any transaction involving real property, the POA must be notarized in order to be recorded with the county register of deeds, as Tennessee recording statutes require acknowledgment before a notary.

Principals should also ensure the document:

• Clearly identifies the principal and the agent by full legal name.
• Contains the durability language required by Tenn. Code section 34-6-102 if the intent is for the POA to survive incapacity.
• Specifies the scope of authority being granted, either by describing it or by incorporating the statutory powers under Tenn. Code section 34-6-109 by reference.
• States the date of execution.

What a Tennessee Agent Can and Cannot Do

An agent under a Tennessee durable POA is a fiduciary under Tenn. Code section 34-6-107. The agent must act loyally in the principal's interest, within the boundaries of the authority granted in the document.

Tennessee provides a set of statutory attorney-in-fact powers at Tenn. Code section 34-6-109. A principal can incorporate these powers by reference under Tenn. Code section 34-6-108 rather than listing every power individually. Statutory powers include, among others, the authority to:

• Manage bank accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts.
• Borrow money and secure loans.
• Buy, sell, and manage real and personal property.
• Invest and reinvest money or other assets.
• Prepare and file tax returns on the principal's behalf.
• Employ attorneys, accountants, advisors, and other professionals.
• Access the principal's legal, medical, and financial records as needed to carry out the agency.
• Make arrangements for the principal's funeral and burial.

There are important limits. Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-108(c), the statutory powers incorporated by reference do not by themselves let an agent exercise powers of revocation or amendment over trusts on the principal's behalf or change beneficiary designations on the principal's life insurance or retirement accounts. Section 34-6-108(b)(1) lets the principal grant any of those excluded powers expressly. Gift-making works differently: under Tenn. Code section 34-6-110(a), an agent under a POA that authorizes the agent to do any act the principal could do, or that otherwise shows the principal's intent to give the agent full power over the principal's affairs, automatically has authority to make gifts of any amount consistent with the principal's personal history of lifetime giving, with no separate express gift clause required. A narrower POA that does not meet that general-grant threshold gives the agent no automatic gift authority. Gifts and other transfers without consideration are carved out of the statutory powers incorporated by reference under section 34-6-108(c)(1), except in fulfillment of charitable pledges the principal made while competent, so gift authority has to come from an express grant in the document. If the document contains none, Tenn. Code section 34-6-110(b) supplies the fallback route: the agent may petition a court of the principal's domicile for authority to make gifts, and the court determines the amounts, recipients, and proportions after considering all relevant factors, including the value and nature of the principal's assets, the principal's foreseeable obligations and maintenance needs, the existing estate plan, and the gift and estate tax effects. An agent can never make or change the principal's will. A court may also prohibit or restrain an agent's actions in appropriate cases.

If the agent will also be named under a health care POA, that is a separate document with separate powers and does not overlap with the financial POA.

Health Care Power of Attorney in Tennessee

Healthcare decisions in Tennessee are governed by a completely separate legal framework. The Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Tenn. Code sections 34-6-201 to 34-6-218, allows a principal to designate an agent to make healthcare decisions when the principal cannot make or communicate those decisions.

To be legally valid under Tenn. Code section 34-6-203, a Tennessee health care POA must:

• Specifically authorize the agent to make healthcare decisions.
• State the date of execution.
• Be signed by the principal.
• Be either attested by a notary public (with no witnesses required) OR signed before two qualified witnesses (without a notary). The principal's signature need only satisfy one of those two alternatives.
• Contain an attestation clause that attests to the witnesses' compliance with the requirements of Tenn. Code section 34-6-203(a)(3). The statute states this requirement without qualification, so a form that omits the clause is a drafting risk even where the document is notarized.

Witness qualifications matter. A witness must be a competent adult who is not the designated agent. At least one of the two witnesses must not be related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and must not be entitled to any portion of the principal's estate upon the principal's death.

Not everyone can serve as the healthcare agent. Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-203(b), a treating healthcare provider, an employee of a treating provider, an operator of a treating healthcare institution, and an employee of such an operator may not be designated as the agent, and a provider who later becomes the principal's treating provider may not act as agent under an existing document. Subsection (b) opens with the words "Except as provided in subsection (d)," and that exception matters to families: section 34-6-203(d) allows an employee of the treating health care provider, or an employee of an operator of a treating health care institution, to serve as agent if that employee is a relative of the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and the other requirements of the part are satisfied. A daughter who works at the hospital treating her mother is therefore not automatically disqualified. The exception covers employees only; it does not reach the treating provider or the institution operator themselves.

If the principal names a spouse as health care agent and the marriage is later dissolved or annulled, Tenn. Code section 34-6-207(e) automatically revokes that designation, unless the document expressly provides otherwise. A principal who wants a former spouse to remain the health care agent despite the divorce must say so explicitly in the document.

Once the health care POA is effective, the agent has authority to make any healthcare decision the principal could have made, unless the document limits that authority. This includes decisions about treatment, hospitalization, surgery, and, if expressly authorized, end-of-life care. Decisions must be made in accordance with the principal's known wishes and, when those are unknown, in the principal's best interest.

Tennessee also has the broader Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, Tenn. Code sections 68-11-1801 to 68-11-1815, which governs advance directives generally, including living wills and oral instructions, and provides the broader legal framework within which healthcare agents operate.

Revoking or Ending a Tennessee Power of Attorney

A principal who retains mental capacity may revoke a Tennessee power of attorney at any time. Revocation must be communicated to the agent; it is not effective simply by the principal's private intent. Best practice is to provide written notice of revocation to the agent and to any financial institutions or other third parties that hold or rely on the original POA document. A new power of attorney does not automatically revoke an earlier one unless the new document expressly states that it does.

Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-105, the death of the principal does not retroactively invalidate acts taken in good faith by an agent who acted without actual knowledge of the death. In other words, third parties who dealt with the agent in good faith before learning of the principal's death are protected. But the principal's death does terminate the POA, and any agent who continues to act after learning of the principal's death acts without authority.

A Tennessee POA also ends when:

• The principal revokes it while having capacity.
• The principal dies.
• The stated purpose of a limited POA is accomplished.
• The agent dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated and no successor agent is named.
• A court terminates the agent's authority.

Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-104, if a court later appoints a conservator or guardian of the estate for the principal, the agent becomes accountable to that fiduciary as well. The court-appointed fiduciary has the same power to revoke or amend the POA that the principal would have had. Principals may also use a durable POA to nominate, in advance, their preferred conservator or guardian, and courts must follow that nomination absent good cause or disqualification.

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

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

More Tennessee Laws

• Tennessee Alimony Laws
• Tennessee Divorce Laws
• Tennessee Probate Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Tennessee require witnesses for a financial power of attorney?

No. Tennessee's Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act at Tenn. Code sections 34-6-101 to 34-6-112 does not impose a statutory witness requirement for a general financial durable POA. The principal's signature is the core execution requirement. Notarization is not required for the POA to be valid between the parties, but it is effectively required if the agent will need to record any real property transaction, and it improves acceptance by banks and other institutions.

What language makes a Tennessee POA durable?

Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-102, a financial POA is durable only if the document contains express language such as: 'This power of attorney shall not be affected by subsequent disability or incapacity of the principal.' Without that language, the POA ends the moment the principal becomes incapacitated, which defeats the main planning purpose. A POA can also spring into effect upon incapacity by using the alternative phrase in section 34-6-102.

Did Tennessee adopt the Uniform Power of Attorney Act?

No. Tennessee has not adopted the 2006 Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA) used by more than 30 states. Tennessee follows its own Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act at Tenn. Code sections 34-6-101 to 34-6-112. A key practical difference is that under the UPOAA a POA is durable by default, while under Tennessee law the document must expressly state it is durable.

Is a health care POA the same as a financial POA in Tennessee?

No. They are separate documents governed by different statutes. A financial durable POA under Tenn. Code sections 34-6-101 to 34-6-112 does not authorize healthcare decisions. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care under sections 34-6-201 to 34-6-218 does not authorize financial transactions. The health care POA also has different execution requirements, including notarization or two qualified witnesses rather than just a signature.

How do I revoke a power of attorney in Tennessee?

A principal with capacity can revoke a Tennessee POA at any time by making a written revocation statement and communicating it to the agent. You should also notify any financial institutions or other parties that have copies of the original POA. A new POA does not automatically cancel an old one unless it expressly says so. For a health care POA, notify the agent and any treating providers.

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

It depends on how broad the POA is. Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-110(a), an agent already has automatic gift-making authority, in any amount and consistent with the principal's personal history of lifetime giving, whenever the POA authorizes the agent to do any act the principal could do or otherwise shows intent to give the agent full power over the principal's affairs, which covers most general or broad-grant POAs. A narrower POA gives no automatic authority: gifts and other transfers without consideration are carved out of the statutory powers incorporated by reference under section 34-6-108(c)(1), except in fulfillment of charitable pledges the principal made while competent, so the principal has to grant gift authority expressly. If the document does not, section 34-6-110(b) lets the agent petition a court of the principal's domicile for gift authority, and the court decides the amounts, recipients, and proportions after weighing the estate's assets, the principal's foreseeable obligations and maintenance needs, the existing estate plan, and the gift and estate tax effects.

Who cannot serve as a health care agent in Tennessee?

Under Tenn. Code section 34-6-203(b), a treating healthcare provider, an employee of a treating provider, an operator of a treating healthcare institution, and any employee of such an operator may not be designated as the healthcare agent. A health care provider who later becomes the principal's treating provider also loses the ability to act as agent under an existing document. There is an express exception for family: under section 34-6-203(d), an employee of the treating provider, or an employee of an operator of a treating institution, may serve as agent if that employee is a relative of the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption and the other requirements of the part are satisfied. The exception applies to employees only, not to the treating provider or the institution operator themselves.