Free Arizona Durable Power of Attorney Form

An Arizona durable power of attorney is a written instrument in which you, the principal, designate another adult as your agent to make financial decisions for you. A.R.S. § 14-5501(A) sets the defining feature: the instrument must contain words showing you intend the authority to be exercisable if you later become a person with a disability or incapacitated, and regardless of how much time has passed, unless the document names a termination date.

Arizona did not adopt the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, so its execution rules sit on their own and differ from most neighboring states.

Arizona asks for more at the signing table than most states do. A.R.S. § 14-5501(D) lists the requirements, and all of them apply together.

The durability wording

Subsection (B) offers two statements you can use, or similar language: one saying the power of attorney is not affected by the principal’s subsequent disability, incapacity, or lapse of time, and one saying it is effective on the principal’s disability or incapacity. Without wording to that effect, the instrument is not durable.

Your signature

The document must be signed or marked by you, or signed in your name by another individual in your conscious presence and at your direction.

One qualifying witness

It must be witnessed by a person other than the agent, the agent’s spouse, the agent’s children, or the notary public.

A notary acknowledgment plus a sworn witness affidavit

Subsection (D)(4) requires the instrument to be acknowledged by you and attested by an affidavit of the witness before a notary public, evidenced by the notary’s certificate under official seal. The statute prints the wording for both the principal’s and the witness’s sworn statements.

Almost any adult except four categories of person. Under § 14-5501(D)(3), your witness cannot be the agent you are appointing, that agent’s spouse, that agent’s children, or the notary public handling the acknowledgment. Because the witness and the notary must be different people, plan on having two people present when you sign your Arizona durable power of attorney.

Arizona also limits who may serve as your agent. Section 14-5501(F) bars a person whose fiduciary license has been suspended or revoked under § 14-5651 from acting as an agent in any capacity, unless that person is related to you by blood, adoption, or marriage, or the license has been reinstated and is in good standing.

1. Name your agent clearly, in language that shows you intend to create a power of attorney.
2. Add the durability wording from § 14-5501(B), or your own words to the same effect.
3. Choose a witness who is not your agent, the agent’s spouse, the agent’s child, or the notary.
4. Sign the document in front of both the witness and the notary public.
5. Have the witness sign the sworn affidavit, and have the notary complete the certificate under official seal.
6. Give the original to your agent and keep copies for the institutions that will need them.

Signed a power of attorney in another state and then moved? A.R.S. § 14-5501(C) says a power of attorney executed in another United States jurisdiction is valid in Arizona if it was validly executed where it was created.

Arizona does not publish a complete fill-in form for financial powers of attorney. Article 5 supplies the acknowledgment and witness affidavit wording, and leaves the body of the document to you. That makes the drafting choices more important here than in states with an official form.

Cover these points:

– Your full legal name and address, and your agent’s
– Language clearly showing you intend to create a power of attorney
– The durability statement
– The financial powers you are granting, described specifically rather than in a single sweeping sentence
– A successor agent
– A termination date, if you want one
– Signature, witness affidavit, and notary certificate blocks

Keep in mind that this document handles money and property. Health care decision-making in Arizona runs through a separate instrument, so an Arizona durable power of attorney is not the place for medical instructions.

Situations involving business ownership, a special needs beneficiary, or property in more than one state deserve a look from a local attorney before you sign.