Free New Hampshire Limited Power of Attorney Form

A New Hampshire limited power of attorney authorizes an agent to handle specific matters for you. The Uniform Power of Attorney Act, RSA chapter 564-E, governs it. The act sets different signing rules for different kinds of documents, so the first step is working out how it classifies yours.

RSA 564-E:105 sets out three sets of signing rules. Which one applies depends on what your document authorizes.

Rules for a General Power of Attorney

You sign by hand, not electronically, and acknowledge the document before a notary public or another authorized official. You also sign a disclosure statement, in substantially the statutory form, and attach it to the document (RSA 564-E:105(a)). In addition, your agent has no authority to act until they sign, by hand, and attach an acknowledgment in substantially the statutory form (RSA 564-E:113(a)).

Rules for a Power to Convey Real Estate

A power of attorney to convey real estate also calls for a handwritten signature rather than an electronic one. Likewise, you acknowledge it before a notary public or another authorized official (RSA 564-E:105(b)).

Rules for Any Other Power of Attorney

Every other power of attorney needs your signature, or a signature made at your direction in your conscious presence (RSA 564-E:105(c)). That subsection doesn’t repeat the ban on electronic signatures.

A Notary Helps Either Way

Whichever rules apply, a signature you acknowledge before a notary is presumed genuine (RSA 564-E:105(d)). So even a document that needs only a signature benefits from notarization when a bank will rely on it.

It might, even if the document is narrow. The act defines a general power of attorney in two ways (RSA 564-E:102(7)):

• A power of attorney that isn’t limited by its terms to a specified transaction or series of transactions, a specific purpose, or a specific asset or set of assets
• A power of attorney that grants an agent authority to do any one or more of the acts described in RSA 564-E:201(a)

So a New Hampshire limited power of attorney tied to one sale or one account isn’t general under the first test. However, if it also grants any act listed in RSA 564-E:201(a), the second test makes it general. In that case, the notary, disclosure statement, and agent acknowledgment rules all apply.

A document can also fit more than one description, such as a general power of attorney that also conveys real estate. If yours might, a New Hampshire attorney can confirm which requirements it must meet.

Classify your document first, then follow the matching steps:

1. Describe the specific transaction, purpose, or asset your agent will handle.
2. Check whether you’re granting any act listed in RSA 564-E:201(a).
3. Note whether the document authorizes conveying real estate.
4. For a general power of attorney, attach the signed disclosure statement.
5. Sign in ink, and meet a notary for the acknowledgment where the rules require it.
6. For a general power of attorney, have your agent sign and attach the acknowledgment before acting.

Your New Hampshire limited power of attorney should show on its face how narrow it is. Include:

• Both parties’ names and addresses
• The specified transaction, purpose, or asset, described concretely
• Any real estate the agent may convey, with a description
• The disclosure statement and agent acknowledgment, if the document is general
• A termination date or triggering event
• A handwritten signature and a notary acknowledgment, where required

The disclosure statement explains why narrow drafting matters. It warns that if the document doesn’t limit your agent’s powers, the agent will have broad and sweeping powers over your money and property. It also reminds you that you may revoke the document at any time while you’re of sound mind.