How to get power of attorney

Updated 2026-10-16 · Expert review in progress

The short answer

To get a power of attorney, choose an agent and a backup, decide what the document covers and when it starts, have it drafted for your state, and sign it as your state requires. In Washington, you sign and date it before a notary or two qualified witnesses, and it must include durability wording to keep working after incapacity.

Setting up a power of attorney is one of the simplest pieces of an estate plan. It's mostly a few decisions and one careful signing. The decisions are the part worth slowing down for.

This page walks through how to get power of attorney from start to finish, using Washington's rules as the worked example. It's part of our guide to estate planning documents, which shows how this one fits with your will, trust and health care directive.

First, a point people often miss

A power of attorney is something a person signs for themselves. You can't get power of attorney over someone else; they have to give it to you.

So if you're an adult child hoping to help a parent, the parent signs the document, naming you. If a parent can no longer understand what they're signing, a power of attorney may no longer be possible, and a court process such as guardianship may be the path. The page on power of attorney for an elderly parent covers that conversation.

Step 1: Decide what kind you need

Most people sign two:

A financial power of attorney for money, bills, accounts and property.
A medical power of attorney for health care decisions.

Washington allows one document to do both. But health care authority must be expressly granted, under RCW 11.125.240. Many people keep them separate so each can go where it's needed: one to the bank, one to the doctor.

Step 2: Choose your agent, and a backup

Your agent is a fiduciary: legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote. In Washington, their duties include acting in good faith, staying within their authority and keeping records, under RCW 11.125.140.

Look for someone who is:

willing, and has said so out loud
organized and honest with money
reachable when it matters
likely to follow your wishes, even where they'd choose differently

Name a backup too. Washington lets you name successor agents who step in if your first choice resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated or declines to serve, under RCW 11.125.110.

If the obvious person lives far away, or is your own age, you have options. The guide to the four roles in an estate plan covers how to choose, and some people name a friend or a professional.

Step 3: Make the key choices

These decisions shape how the document works. Here they are as a checklist, with Washington's rule for each.

Decision	Your options	Washington rule
Should it survive incapacity?	Durable, or not	Ends at incapacity unless it has durability wording (RCW 11.125.040)
When should it start?	Now, or at a future event such as incapacity	Effective when signed unless it says otherwise (RCW 11.125.090)
What should it cover?	General authority, or listed subjects only	General authority if it grants "all acts" you could do (RCW 11.125.250)
Gifts, beneficiary changes, trust changes?	Allow, limit or leave out	Allowed only if expressly granted (RCW 11.125.240)
Health care decisions?	Include, or use a separate document	Must be expressly granted (RCW 11.125.240)
Should your agent be paid?	Paid, unpaid or a set amount	Reasonable pay and expenses unless the document says otherwise (RCW 11.125.120)
Who confirms incapacity, if it springs?	A person you name, or the default	Otherwise a physician or licensed psychologist who examined you, or a judge (RCW 11.125.090)

The durability question deserves a second look. In Washington, a power of attorney is not durable by default. If the wording is missing, it stops working when you need it most. The page on durable powers of attorney explains the rule and why other states differ.

Step 4: Have it drafted for your state

Each state has its own law on powers of attorney. A document should be written for the state where you live, using that state's rules on wording and signing.

There are a few ways to get one drafted: an estate planning lawyer, an online service, or a plan that includes the documents. Kinly, for example, includes a financial and a medical power of attorney written for your state as part of its membership. The pages on estate planning attorney costs, what a will costs and living trust costs compare the routes.

Step 5: Sign it the right way

This is where a good document can still go wrong. In Washington, the signing rules are in RCW 11.125.050. You must sign and date it, and then do one of the following:

Sign before a notary, who acknowledges your signature, or
Have two or more competent witnesses sign it, in your presence and at your request.

Washington limits who can witness. A witness can't be your home care provider, or a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility where you live. A witness also can't be related to you or your agent by blood, marriage or registered domestic partnership.

There's a practical reason to choose the notary. In Washington, a notarized signature is presumed genuine (RCW 11.125.050). A bank or other business presented with a notarized power of attorney must generally accept it, or ask for a certification or translation, within seven business days, under RCW 11.125.200.

If you're physically unable to sign your name, the statute allows signing by a mark or by another method set out in Washington law.

A signed document in a drawer helps nobody. After signing:

Give your agent a copy, and tell your backup agent where the original is. In Washington, a photocopy or electronic copy generally has the same effect as the original, under RCW 11.125.060.
Talk with your agent. Tell them what you'd want, which accounts exist, who the vet is, and who has the spare key.
Check with your bank. Ask whether they'd like a copy on file now, while you're there to answer questions.
Plan for Social Security separately. The Congressional Research Service explains that a power of attorney doesn't by itself let an agent manage Social Security or SSI payments. Social Security has to appoint a representative payee.

In Washington, your agent accepts the role by acting under the document or otherwise showing acceptance, under RCW 11.125.130.

Step 7: Review it when life changes

A power of attorney can last decades. Look at it again after a move, a marriage or divorce, a death, or a change in your agent's health.

Two Washington details matter here. Signing a new power of attorney doesn't revoke an older one unless the new document says so, under RCW 11.125.100. And if your agent is your spouse or registered domestic partner, their authority ends when a divorce or legal separation is filed, unless the document says otherwise.

If you revoke a document, tell your agent and anyone holding a copy. The same statute protects people who act in good faith without knowing it was revoked.

Common questions

Do I need a lawyer to get a power of attorney?

Not always. What matters is that the document is written for your state and signed the way your state requires. Many people still use a lawyer or a plan that includes drafted documents, especially for choices like gifts and durability.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in Washington?

Not necessarily. Washington accepts either a notary's acknowledgment or two qualified witnesses. Notarizing has advantages, because a notarized signature is presumed genuine and banks must generally respond to a notarized document within seven business days.

Can I get power of attorney for my parent?

Only if your parent signs one naming you. A power of attorney is given by the person themselves. If your parent can no longer understand what they're signing, a court process such as guardianship may be needed instead.

Is a power of attorney from another state valid in Washington?

Generally yes, if it was signed correctly under the law that governs it, which is the state named in the document or the state where it was signed. It's still worth having it reviewed after a move.

Can I change my agent later?

Yes. While you have capacity, you can revoke the document or your agent's authority and sign a new one. Make sure the new document says it revokes the old one, and tell everyone holding a copy.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

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