Free Illinois Durable Power of Attorney Form
Choose an agent to handle your property and financial affairs on your behalf. Answer a few guided questions and download your document in PDF or Word.
- Download as PDF and Word
- E-sign included
What Is an Illinois Durable Power of Attorney?
An Illinois durable power of attorney gives an agent authority over your property and financial affairs, and that authority carries on if you become incapacitated. The Illinois Power of Attorney Act, 755 ILCS 45, is the governing law.
Illinois builds the durability into its own form. The official notice attached to the statutory short form says so plainly. Your agent may exercise the powers throughout your lifetime, both before and after incapacity, unless you limit the period yourself.
Timing works the same way. Absent a limit, the authority begins when you sign and continues until your death.
Who Must Be in the Room When You Sign
An Illinois durable power of attorney needs more signatures than most states ask for. The statutory short form takes effect only when you sign it, at least one witness signs it, and a notary acknowledges your signature.
The notary cannot double up
One person cannot fill both roles. The form states directly that the notary may not also sign as a witness, so plan on three people at the table.
A second witness is optional
Illinois requires only one. The form leaves space for a second witness anyway, which helps if you may later use the document in a state expecting two.
Read the notice first
A coversheet comes before the form itself. It carries the title Notice to the Individual Signing the Illinois Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney for Property. Illinois wants it on a separate sheet in 14-point type, and you initial it to confirm you read it.
Who Cannot Serve as Your Witness in Illinois
The witness certification does the screening for you. Your witness signs a statement ruling out each of these roles:
- Your attending physician or mental health service provider, or a relative of either
- An owner or operator of a health care facility where you are a patient or resident, or a relative of one
- A parent, sibling, or descendant of you or of any agent or successor agent, or the spouse of such a person, whether related by blood, marriage, or adoption
- An agent or successor agent under the document
That last one catches people out. Your named agent’s adult child cannot witness, and neither can your own sibling, which rules out most of the family members who happen to be nearby.
A neighbour, a colleague, or a staff member at your bank usually qualifies. Line up the witness before you book the notary, because a disqualified signature means starting over.
How the Illinois Statutory Short Form Works
The form at 755 ILCS 45/3-3 comes in three parts: the notice to you, the power of attorney itself, and a Notice to Agent, which the form incorporates by reference.
Its power list works by deletion rather than selection. Fifteen categories appear, from real estate transactions to borrowing and business operations. Leave a category’s title untouched and your agent gets those powers, so you remove one by drawing a line through the title.
Two more quirks are worth knowing:
- You cannot name co-agents on this form, though it does welcome successor agents
- Gifts, changes to beneficiaries or joint tenants, and trust amendments belong in paragraph 3, because the standard categories leave them out
What to Include in Your Illinois Form
Your Illinois durable power of attorney should name you and your agent, keep the categories you want, and strike the ones you do not. Successor agents belong in paragraph 8, and any limit on a category belongs in paragraph 2.
Consider the guardian nomination too. Paragraph 9 lets you nominate your agent as guardian of your estate if a court ever needs to appoint one, and striking it out is the way to decline.
