Free New York Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney Form

In New York the document does not switch on when you sign it. It switches on when your agent does. A New York Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney gives an agent authority over your financial affairs and expressly ends that authority if you become incapacitated. Title 15 of Article 5 of the General Obligations Law governs it, and New York never adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act.

New York has the strictest signing rules in this document family, and they reach as far as the typeface.

Twelve Point Type

Your document must be typed or printed using letters that are legible or of clear type no less than twelve point in size, or, if handwritten, a reasonable equivalent. That is a validity requirement, not a style note.

Signed, Initialed and Dated, With Two Witnesses

It must be signed, initialed and dated by a principal with capacity, or signed in your name by another person who is not your agent or successor agent, in your presence and at your direction. Your signature must be acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property, and witnessed by two people in your presence. Neither witness may be named in the document as an agent or as a permissible recipient of gifts. The person taking the acknowledgment may also serve as one of the two witnesses. Where someone signs at your direction, they sign by writing or printing your name, and printing and signing their own. All of that sits in section 5-1501B(1)(b).

Two Blocks of Required Wording

Your document must substantially conform to the Caution to the Principal and the Important Information for the Agent set out in section 5-1513. Insubstantial variation in either is forgiven.

When your agent’s signature is acknowledged, which is a rule worth planning around. Section 5-1501B(1)(c) requires the document to be signed and dated by any agent acting on your behalf, with the agent’s signature acknowledged in the same manner as yours. Subdivision 3(a) then makes the date of that acknowledgment the effective date of the power of attorney as to that agent. Where two or more agents are designated to act together, it takes effect only once all of them have signed with their signatures acknowledged.

New York anticipates a gap between the two signings. The same paragraph says the document is not invalid solely because time has passed between the acknowledgment of your signature and your agent’s, or because you became incapacitated during that lapse.

For a document you intend to end at incapacity, that gap is worth closing quickly. The saving provision is about validity, not about keeping your agent’s authority alive, and a non-durable document is the one you have deliberately arranged to stop at incapacity. Get your agent to the notary soon after you sign a New York Non-Durable (General) Power of Attorney, rather than filing the paper and dealing with it later.

Section 5-1501B(3)(b) covers the other case. If the document says it takes effect on a stated date or contingency, it takes effect only once that has occurred and the agent’s signature has been acknowledged.

1. Set the document in twelve point type or larger before you print it.
2. Name your agent and any successor, and describe the authority granted.
3. Include the Caution to the Principal and the Important Information for the Agent.
4. Write in the provision ending the document on your incapacity.
5. Line up two witnesses, neither of whom is an agent or a named gift recipient.
6. Sign, initial and date the document in front of them, and have them sign.
7. Acknowledge your signature before a notary, who may be one of the two witnesses.
8. Have your agent sign, date and acknowledge their signature, which is what starts the document running.

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

• Your name and address, and your agent’s
• Any successor agent
• The authority granted, itemized
• The Caution to the Principal and the Important Information for the Agent
• The provision terminating the document on your incapacity
• Your signature, initials and date, two witness signatures, and the acknowledgment
• Your agent’s signature, date and acknowledgment