The 2011 Florida Power of Attorney Act

The Act defines a power of attorney to be a writing that grants authority to an agent to act in the place of the principal, whether or not the term power of attorney is used. An act performed by an agent pursuant to a power of attorney has the same effect and inures to the benefit of and binds the principal and the principal-s successors in interest as if the principal had performed the act.

Execution Durable and nondurable powers must be signed by the principal and by two subscribing witnesses, and be acknowledged by the principal before a notary public.


Revocation The principal may revoke a power of attorney by either an express revocation in a new power of attorney, or in some other writing. The principal's signature is the only technical requirement for a stand-alone revocation. Suspension and Termination The Act specifies the events which result in a suspension or termination of a power of attorney or of an agent's authority. In all cases, the termination or suspension is not effective as to an agent who acts in good faith and without knowledge of the termination or suspension. All powers of attorney will be suspended on filing a petition to determine capacity of the principal.

Contingent Powers of Attorney Contingent, or -springing-, powers of attorney will not be authorized after the effective date of the Act.

Co-agents and Successor Agents The principal may designate a single agent or, if desired, the principal may designate two or more persons to act as co-agents. Unless the power of attorney provides otherwise, each co-agent may exercise its authority independently.

Resignation An agent who wishes to resign may do so by either complying with the requirements for resignation in the power of attorney, or if the document is silent, by giving notice to the principal, any court-appointed guardian, and any co-agent, or if none, to the next successor agent.

The Duties of the Agent The Act creates both mandatory and default duties for the agent. The principal is free to expand, curtail, or eliminate a default duty but may not alter a mandatory duty.

The Authority of the Agent An agent may only exercise authority specifically granted to the agent in the power of attorney and any authority reasonably necessary to give effect to that express grant of specific authority. A general provision in a power of attorney (i.e., -my agent may do all acts in my place and stead as I could do personally-) is insufficient, without more, to grant authority to the agent.

Banking and Investment Powers Although the Act requires a degree of specificity in identifying the authority an agent may exercise, there are two recognized exceptions for banking powers and investment powers. These are the two most common uses of a power of attorney so it was deemed appropriate to make a power of attorney more -user friendly- for both the agents and the financial institutions asked to accept the powers of attorney for these actions.

Acceptance by Third Persons The Act provides further guidance on the types of information the third party may request, requires the third party to act within a specific period of time and to explain why a power of attorney is rejected (if it is), and also protects the third party who has accepted a power of attorney in good faith that appears to be properly executed.

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