Durable Power of Attorney Decisions: What Agents Can and Cannot Do

Under a durable power of attorney, the agent can make whatever financial and property decisions the document specifically grants — typically banking, bill payment, investments, real estate, tax filings, and government benefits — and that authority continues even if the principal becomes incapacitated. What an agent cannot do is equally important: no changing the principal’s will, no voting, no marrying on their behalf, no medical decisions (those belong to a separate healthcare document), no acting after the principal dies, and no using the principal’s money for personal benefit unless the document expressly allows it.

Financial Decisions the Agent Can Make

The document itself controls the scope. A principal can grant authority broadly or narrowly, and the agent’s power extends only as far as the wording goes. Common financial powers include:

Banking: Opening and closing accounts, depositing and withdrawing funds, and writing checks on the principal’s behalf.
Bill payment: Paying mortgages, utilities, insurance premiums, and other recurring obligations.
Investments: Buying and selling stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in the principal’s brokerage accounts.
Real estate: Listing property for sale, signing purchase agreements, and managing rental properties.
Taxes: Filing returns, making estimated payments, and communicating with the IRS or state tax agencies.
Government benefits: Applying for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, or veterans’ benefits.

An agent who acts outside the document’s scope has no authority for that action. If the power of attorney covers banking only, an agent who signs a real estate contract has stepped past the line, and the transaction can be challenged. When dealing with a bank or title company, the agent generally has to present the original or a certified copy so the institution can confirm what’s authorized.¹

A limited or “special” power of attorney narrows the agent to a single task, such as signing closing documents on a house sale while the principal is overseas. A general durable power of attorney covers a wide range of financial activities and stays effective through incapacity. Military families often use the general form so a spouse can manage finances during deployment.²

Decisions the Agent Cannot Make

Some decisions are considered so personal that no power of attorney, no matter how broadly written, can delegate them. An agent cannot:

Make or change the principal’s will: Testamentary decisions belong exclusively to the person making the will. The agent has no authority to create, modify, or revoke one.
Vote in elections: Voting rights are personal and nondelegable.
Enter into a marriage on the principal’s behalf.
Act after the principal’s death: A power of attorney terminates at death. Authority then passes to the executor or personal representative named in the will, or appointed by a court.

Self-dealing is another hard boundary. The agent cannot use the principal’s money to benefit themselves — paying themselves an unauthorized salary, “borrowing” from the principal’s accounts, or moving the principal’s assets into their own name. The only exception is when the document itself explicitly authorizes a specific type of self-dealing, such as allowing the agent to make gifts to themselves as part of an estate plan.¹

Medical Decisions Are Not Included

One of the most common misconceptions is that a single durable power of attorney covers both money and medical care. In practice, these are almost always separate documents with separate agents, though the same person can be named for both roles.

A durable financial power of attorney authorizes the agent to handle money, property, investments, taxes, and similar business matters. A healthcare power of attorney (sometimes called a healthcare proxy or medical power of attorney) authorizes a different kind of decision-making: choosing doctors, consenting to or refusing treatments, and making end-of-life care decisions. One document does not override the other.²

If only a financial power of attorney exists, the agent has no authority to make medical decisions. If only a healthcare directive exists, no one has legal authority over the principal’s bank accounts or bills. Most estate planning lawyers recommend executing both at the same time.

Duties That Govern Every Decision the Agent Makes

Even when a decision falls within the document’s scope, the agent isn’t free to make it however they want. An agent owes the principal fiduciary duties, the highest standard of obligation the law recognizes. Under the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, adopted in roughly 30 states and the District of Columbia, an agent who accepts the role must act in the principal’s best interest, act in good faith, stay within the authority the document grants, and keep records of all financial transactions. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guidance reduces this to four rules: act only in the principal’s best interest, manage property carefully, keep the principal’s money separate from your own, and maintain good records.¹

An agent who violates these duties can be removed by a court, sued for the losses caused, and in serious cases prosecuted criminally. Agents who drain a principal’s accounts or steer assets to themselves face both civil liability and potential jail time.¹

When the Agent’s Authority Begins and Ends

Whether the agent can act at all depends on timing. A durable power of attorney becomes effective in one of two ways:

Immediate: The agent’s authority begins the moment the principal signs. This is the more common approach and avoids the practical complications of proving incapacity later.
Springing: The agent’s authority stays dormant until a triggering event, usually a physician’s written determination that the principal can no longer manage their own affairs.

A springing power of attorney sounds appealing because the agent has no authority while the principal is healthy. The practical problem is that when the principal does become incapacitated, the agent has to find a doctor willing to put the determination in writing and then convince every bank and institution to accept that certification. This can take weeks. During that time no one has legal authority to pay the principal’s bills. Many estate planning attorneys recommend an immediate power of attorney with a trusted agent instead of a springing version that creates a gap in coverage.

The agent’s authority ends the moment the principal dies. After death, the agent cannot access accounts, sign documents, or make any decisions; those responsibilities shift to the executor of the principal’s estate. Authority also ends in several other situations:

Revocation: A principal who still has mental capacity can revoke the power of attorney at any time by putting the revocation in writing, notifying the agent, and informing any institutions that have been relying on the document.
Court invalidation: If a court finds the agent is mismanaging the principal’s affairs, acting in bad faith, or exploiting the principal, it can terminate the authority.
Loss of the agent: If the agent resigns, becomes incapacitated, or dies, authority ends unless a successor is named.
Divorce: In roughly a dozen states, divorce or filing for divorce automatically revokes a spouse’s authority as agent. In states without that automatic rule, the power of attorney remains in effect until formally revoked. Either way, drafting a new document after a divorce is the safest course.

Revocation requires follow-through. Tearing up the document isn’t enough. Any bank, brokerage, insurance company, or government agency that previously accepted the power of attorney needs written notice of the revocation. Otherwise, the former agent could still conduct transactions, and an institution that honored the request in good faith may not be liable for the loss.

Co-Agents and Successor Agents

A principal can name more than one agent to serve at the same time (co-agents) or name backup agents who step in only if the primary agent can’t serve (successor agents). This changes who is actually authorized to make decisions at any given moment.

Co-agents share authority simultaneously. In most states, unless the document says otherwise, each co-agent can act independently. Either one can sign checks, authorize transactions, or make decisions without the other’s approval. A principal who wants co-agents to agree before acting has to say so explicitly. Requiring unanimous action adds a layer of protection against abuse but creates a logistical burden: if one co-agent is unavailable or disagrees, nothing gets done.

Successor agents are a safety net. If the primary agent dies, becomes incapacitated, resigns, or is removed by a court, the successor steps into the role with the same authority, unless the document narrows it. Naming at least one successor is one of the simplest ways to avoid a gap that could otherwise force the family into a guardianship proceeding.

When a Bank Won’t Honor the Agent’s Decisions

A valid durable power of attorney doesn’t help much if the bank won’t accept it. Institutional resistance is one of the most common practical problems agents face. Banks sometimes refuse because the document is several years old, because staff are unfamiliar with the applicable law, or because internal compliance policies are stricter than what state law actually requires.

The CFPB advises agents to present the power of attorney to banks and other financial institutions as soon as possible, ideally when the document is first signed rather than years later during a crisis. Some institutions will keep a copy on file, which makes future transactions smoother.¹

In states that have adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a person or institution that receives an acknowledged power of attorney must either accept it or request additional documentation within seven business days. After receiving any requested certification or legal opinion, they must accept it within five more business days. An institution that refuses in violation of this timeline can be ordered by a court to accept the document and may be liable for the agent’s attorney fees and costs. The institution also cannot insist on its own proprietary form when the agent presents a valid one.

If a bank refuses, ask for the reason in writing and escalate to a supervisor. If the refusal persists, an elder law attorney can send a demand letter citing the applicable state statute, which usually resolves the matter without litigation.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Help for Agents Under a Power of Attorney
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Power of Attorney (POA)