Estate Planning: Can I Revoke a Power of Attorney?

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You can revoke a power of attorney at any time if you are not incapacitated or incompetent.  In order to do this, you will need to sign a written document stating that you revoke the prior power of attorney and that the previous named attorney-in-fact no longer has power to act on your behalf in any way.  The document should be notarized and meet the requirements of Minnesota Statute § 523.11. You can find those requirements in their entirety here.  The revocation will not be effective until the attorney-in-fact has received notice of the revocation.

If you have a durable power of attorney and it is not revoked, it would remain in effect until your death.  At the time after your death, the personal representative of your estate will be responsible for winding up and concluding all of your financial affairs.  A will is the document in which you would appoint a personal representative; you will be given an opportunity to appoint this person when you create your will.  In the event that your power of attorney is not “durable,” it would no longer be effective if you become incapacitated or incompetent and are unable to make your own decisions, so it is important that you understand if this type of power of attorney is something that is right for you.

If you named your spouse as your attorney-in-fact and you later get a divorce, your ex-spouse’s authority to act on your behalf is automatically terminated.  If you have not named anyone else to serve as your successor attorney-in-fact, the power of attorney would no longer be valid.  You have the option of naming a first and second successor in your power of attorney in case your primary choice for attorney-in-fact is no longer able or willing to act on your behalf.