How to Get Power of Attorney in Pennsylvania: Step-by-Step

You cannot "get" power of attorney over someone else. Only the person granting authority — the principal — can create a POA, and they must be cognitively competent when they sign it. If your parent or spouse has already lost capacity, the POA window has closed and your only option is a court-supervised guardianship through the Orphans' Court.

If they still have capacity, here is exactly how to execute a valid POA in Pennsylvania.

Step 1: Decide What Authority to Grant

Pennsylvania requires separate documents for financial and healthcare decisions:

Financial POA (Title 20, Chapter 56) — covers banking, bill paying, real estate, tax filings, investment accounts. Governed by strict Act 95 execution rules including a mandatory statutory notice page and agent acknowledgment.

Healthcare POA / Advance Directive (Title 20, Chapter 54) — covers medical treatment decisions, end-of-life wishes, and organ donation. Requires only two witnesses (notarization optional but recommended).

Most families need both. They cannot be combined into one document because the legal standards differ.

Step 2: Choose the Right Agent

The agent (called "attorney-in-fact" in some states) will have legal authority over the principal's affairs. Consider:

• Trustworthiness over convenience — the agent will have access to every bank account, investment, and piece of property covered by the POA
• Geographic proximity — an agent in California managing a parent's affairs in Philadelphia will face practical delays with banks, county offices, and healthcare facilities
• Co-agents vs. sole agent — naming two co-agents provides oversight but can create bank delays if the institution requires both signatures for every transaction. Pennsylvania allows co-agents to act jointly or severally (independently); specify which in the document
• Successor agents — always name at least one backup. If the primary agent becomes unavailable, the successor steps in without requiring a new POA

Step 3: Decide on "Hot Powers"

Under 20 Pa. C.S. § 5601.4(a), certain high-risk transactions require an explicit, specific grant of authority. A general power clause does not authorize these:

• Making gifts of the principal's property
• Creating, amending, or revoking trusts
• Changing beneficiary designations on retirement accounts or life insurance
• Creating or changing rights of survivorship (joint tenancy)
• Delegating authority to a third party
• Accessing the principal's digital assets and electronic communications

If the principal wants the agent to do any of these — particularly gifting for inheritance tax planning or Medicaid asset protection — the powers must be spelled out in the document. Without them, the agent is blocked.

Step 4: Execute the Document

For a financial POA executed on or after January 1, 2015, Act 95 requires all of the following:

1. The document must begin with the exact statutory capital-letter "NOTICE" page prescribed by § 5601(c)
2. The principal signs and dates the document (including the notice page)
3. Two independent adult witnesses watch the signing — neither can be the agent, a successor agent, or the notary
4. A notary public acknowledges the principal's signature — the notary cannot be the agent or a witness
5. The agent signs the statutory "ACKNOWLEDGMENT" page accepting fiduciary duties under § 5601(d) — this can happen later, but the agent has no legal authority to act until it is signed

Step 5: Record (If Needed for Real Estate)

If the agent will handle real estate transactions, record the fully executed POA with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Title companies typically require this before they will accept a proxy signature at closing.

Recording is not required for banking or general financial management, but some families record a copy anyway as a public-record safeguard.

Step 6: Distribute Copies

Give the original or certified copies to:

• The agent and any successor agents
• The principal's banks and financial institutions
• The principal's primary care physician (if a healthcare directive was also executed)
• The family's estate planning attorney (if applicable)

Keep the original in a fireproof location the agent can access — not a safe deposit box that requires the POA itself to open.

What If the Principal Has Already Lost Capacity?

If a parent or spouse cannot understand what they are signing, a POA is not an option. The family must petition the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas for a guardianship. This is a public proceeding that typically costs $3,000 to $10,000 in legal fees, requires ongoing court reporting, and strips the incapacitated person of legal rights the court assigns to the guardian.

A properly executed durable POA avoids this process entirely — which is why timing matters.

The Pennsylvania Power of Attorney Kit provides Act 95-compliant templates, the mandatory notice and acknowledgment pages, and a hot powers decision checklist so nothing gets missed.

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