Free Georgia Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney Form

Georgia writes one phrase into its signing rule three separate times, and it changes how you plan the appointment. A Georgia Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney grants an agent authority over your finances and states expressly that the authority ends if you become incapacitated. The Georgia Power of Attorney Act at chapter 6B of title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated sets the rules.

Georgia lists three things, and the same phrase keeps repeating through all of them.

Your Signature

The document must be signed by you, or by another individual in your presence at your express direction.

A Witness, Watching You Sign

It must be attested in your presence by a competent witness who is not also named as an agent in the document.

A Second Person, Also Watching

It must be attested as set out in Code section 44-2-15, in your presence, by an individual who is not that witness and who is not named as an agent. A notary public fills this role. Neither of those two individuals is required to attest to anyone’s signature other than yours, or that of the person signing at your express direction. All of this sits in section 10-6B-5.

Say That It Ends at Incapacity

Georgia starts from durability: a power of attorney created under the chapter is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. Section 10-6B-4 is short and decisive, and your document has to carry that express provision.

Yes, and that is the practical heart of section 10-6B-5. Each of the two attestations must happen in your presence. You cannot sign at home, courier the document to a witness, then take it to a notary a few days later. Georgia contemplates one sitting with three people in it: you, your witness, and the attesting individual.

Two more restrictions narrow who those people can be. Neither may be named as an agent in the document, and they cannot be the same person as each other. That rules out the arrangement people reach for most often, where a family member who is also the agent tries to cover one of the roles. Line up three unconnected people for a Georgia Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney.

The 2018 amendments tightened this. Paragraph (a)(2) previously read simply that the document be attested in your presence by one or more competent witnesses. The current text names a single competent witness and adds the exclusion of anyone named as an agent.

Plan it as a single appointment.

1. Prepare the document fully before anyone arrives.
2. State expressly that it terminates on your incapacity, tracking section 10-6B-4.
3. Add an end date, or the task that closes the authority.
4. Bring a competent witness who is not named as your agent.
5. Bring a notary public, who must be a different person from that witness and also not your agent.
6. Sign in front of both, or direct another individual to sign in your presence.
7. Have the witness attest in your presence.
8. Have the notary attest in your presence as required by Code section 44-2-15.

A complete Georgia Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney carries:

• Your name and address, and your agent’s
• Any successor agent
• The authority granted, itemized
• The express sentence terminating the document on your incapacity
• An end date or defined task
• Your signature, one witness attestation, and a separate notarial attestation