Power of Attorney Forms Used in Real Estate Transactions

A power of attorney (“POA”) is a contract that provides one person (“Agent”) the authority to conduct business on behalf of another person (“Principal”). If you will not be available for a real estate closing, entering into a POA with a trusted person may be an option for you to discuss with your lawyer.

Examples of when someone would use a POA are:

A spouse is stationed overseas and needs to give their partner the authority to sell their home.
An elderly person wants their child to make financial decisions on their behalf.

Many states provide statutory forms for POAs, so that the contract does not need to be drawn up by your lawyer from scratch—saving you time and money. The citations for the available forms are listed below:

State	Statutory Form	State	Statutory Form
AL	Ala. Code § 26-1A-301	MT	Mont. Code Ann. § 72-31-353
AR	Ark. Code Ann. § 28-68-301	NE	Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 30-4041
CA	Cal. Prob. Code § 4401	NV	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 162A.620
CO	Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 15-14-741	NH	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 564-E:301
CT	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 1-352	NM	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 45-5B-301
DE	Del. Code Ann. tit. 12, § 49A-301	NY	N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-1513
DC	D.C. Code Ann. § 21-2101	NC	N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 32C-3-301
GA	Ga. Code Ann. § 10-6B-70	OH	Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 1337.60
HI	Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 551E-51	OK	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 1003
ID	Idaho Code Ann. § 15-12-301	RI	18 R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 18-16-2
IL	755 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 45/3-3	TX	Tex. Est. Code Ann. § 752.051
IA	Iowa Code Ann. § 633B.301	UT	Utah Code Ann. § 75-9-301
KS	Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-632	WV	W. Va. Code Ann. § 39B-3-101
MD	Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 17-203	WI	Wis. Stat. Ann. § 244.61
MN	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 523.23	WY	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 3-9-301

These forms are just a starting point and not meant to be a substitute for legal advice. If there’s anything about the terms of the statutory POA that you do not understand, you will need to speak to your attorney.

If you’re closing a transaction with Spruce and using a POA, please let us know as soon as possible! We need to review the document and make sure we check all the boxes, including the following:

We need the original version (not a copy).
The POA must be properly notarized, and witnessed if required in your state.
We will also need time to make sure there are not any additional underwriting requirements for the transaction to close.

Have more questions? Get in touch with us here: contact@spruce.co.

Nothing in this post is to be considered as the rendering of legal advice for specific matters or cases, or creating an attorney-client relationship, and readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel. This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only, and no warranty or representation is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein.

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