Durable Power of Attorney In Michigan

Protect your finances and legal decisions — even if you can’t act for yourself.

A Michigan Durable Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a trusted individual to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated. Without this document, your family may be forced to seek court approval before handling basic matters like paying bills, managing property, or accessing accounts.

This document helps ensure continuity, privacy, and control — allowing life to continue smoothly even during unexpected events.

Planning Ahead for Life’s Unexpected Moments

A Durable Power of Attorney is one of the most important legal documents you can put in place — yet one of the most commonly overlooked. In Michigan, this document allows you to name a trusted person to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become unable to act for yourself due to illness, injury, or incapacity.

Without a properly executed Durable Power of Attorney, even close family members may be forced to go to court to gain authority to help you. That process can be slow, expensive, and emotionally draining — especially during a crisis.

Planning ahead ensures your life continues to run smoothly, even when you can’t personally manage it.

What a Michigan Durable Power of Attorney Allows

A Michigan Durable Power of Attorney gives your chosen agent legal authority to act on your behalf in specific or broad matters, including:

• Managing bank accounts and paying bills

• Handling real estate transactions

• Managing investments or business interests

• Signing legal and financial documents

• Communicating with institutions on your behalf

You remain fully in control while you have capacity. The authority only activates when needed — and only in the ways you authorize.

Why “Durable” Matters

A standard power of attorney may end if you become incapacitated. A durable power of attorney remains effective even if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

This distinction is critical.

Without durability, families often face court-supervised guardianship or conservatorship proceedings — a process that can be expensive, public, and emotionally taxing. A properly drafted Durable Power of Attorney helps avoid that outcome.

Designed for Real Life — Not Just Legal Theory

Every situation is different. Some people need broad authority for a spouse or partner. Others want limited authority for a trusted adult child, friend, or professional.

A well-structured Durable Power of Attorney allows you to:

• Define exactly what powers are granted

• Limit or expand authority as needed

• Coordinate with other planning tools like trusts or healthcare directives

• Maintain privacy and control

This is not about giving up control — it’s about keeping control in the right hands.

In Michigan, a durable power of attorney is a legal instrument under the Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act (Act 187 of 2023, MCL 556.201–556.505) that allows a principal to appoint an agent (attorney-in-fact) to manage financial affairs, property, and other designated matters even after the principal becomes incapacitated, provided the document complies with statutory execution requirements. To be durable in Michigan, the power of attorney must be acknowledged before a notary public or signed in the presence of two witnesses according to MCL 556.205, ensuring its validity and durability upon incapacity. The Act defines key terms like “agent,” “principal,” and “durable,” and outlines execution, authority, and third-party acceptance procedures under Michigan law. This durable designation distinguishes it from a non-durable POA that would otherwise terminate if the principal becomes incapacitated, making it a core tool in Michigan estate planning, financial planning, and incapacity preparation.

Why Michigan-Specific Planning Matters

Michigan law has specific requirements for valid powers of attorney. Generic online forms often fail to account for state-specific rules, financial institution policies, or real-life use cases.

A properly prepared Michigan Durable Power of Attorney helps ensure:

• Banks and institutions will honor the document

• Your intentions are clearly documented

• Your plan works when it’s actually needed

Start With Clarity

You don’t need to know all the answers to begin.
Start by answering a few simple questions, and we’ll guide you toward a Durable Power of Attorney that fits your life — not a one-size-fits-all form.