Free Florida Power of Attorney (POA) Form

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Last Update April 20th, 2024

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Table of Contents:

Types of Power of Attorney in Florida
How to Get a Power of Attorney in Florida
Florida Power of Attorney Requirements
Florida Power of Attorney Sample
Power of Attorney FAQs

Types of Power of Attorney in Florida

Before starting a Florida Power of Attorney it is critical to know what type of POA to create. There are many different varieties of these legal instruments and each grants different kinds of powers from a Principal to an Agent or Attorney-in-Fact.

The most common types of Power of Attorney legal documents include the following:

Durable: A Durable Power of Attorney is often used by Principals to prepare for advanced age, serious illness, or disability. They can be used for financial or medical purposes and continue to remain valid even if the appointing individual becomes incapacitated.
Limited: Limited Power of Attorney is used by Principals to delegate decision-making powers to trusted individuals for a limited amount of time. These are usually created to allow professionals such as attorneys or financial advisors to act on your behalf for one-off tasks such as signing contracts or opening bank accounts, etc.
Springing: A Springing Power of Attorney is a document that comes into effect once certain conditions are met. For example, in the case of the mental or physical incapacitation of the Principal. It is not currently possible to create a Springing POA in Florida, following laws introduced in 2011.
Real Estate: Real Estate Power of Attorneys are specially written documents that allow Principals to delegate essential responsibilities of the home buying process to professionals such as Estate Agents.
Medical: Medical Power of Attorneys are a type of Durable POA used by individuals to delegate the responsibility of their healthcare decisions to a trusted friend or family member.
DMV: A DMV Power of Attorney can be used to grant powers to make decisions over any vehicles you own. This is not limited only to cars and motorcycles, but also larger vehicles such as trailers, HGVs, and boats.

How to Get a Power of Attorney in Florida

It is possible to complete a Florida Power of Attorney fully online using our form creation survey. This allows you to quickly and easily draw up a document with the assistance of simple step-by-step instructions, fully mapped out templates and customizable elements that can be tailored to your individual needs.

Alternatively, the task of creating a POA can be left to a lawyer. However, this is usually a more time consuming and costly process.

Last but not least, it is possible to get prepared Power of Attorney forms from a Florida DMV site. However, these documents can only be used to create a POA for vehicles.

Florida Power of Attorney Requirements

There are a number of important legal requirements in Florida that must be met before someone can bring a Power of Attorney into effect. These are as follows.

First of all, when creating a Durable document it must contain specific phrasing about how the powers cannot be revoked by incapacity unless the situation falls under Chapter 709 of Florida Statutes. The POA document also must be fully and correctly completed with all the necessary details such as:

The name and address of both the Principal and Agent
The date that the document will become effective
The powers and responsibility that are being granted to the Agent

Additionally, the Principal must be mentally competent enough to enter into such an agreement. If they are not fully conscious of what they are signing then it will invalidate the POA.

Furthermore, the document must be signed in front of 2 witnesses and a registered notary public. This is again to ensure that the Principal is fully aware and in agreement with the powers that are to be granted. A notary public must also be present at the signing to notarize the document.

Lastly, the Agent must be a legal adult or a financial institution with trust powers, a registered place of business within the state and that has the authority to carry out trust business in Florida. They should also be someone that the Principal has full confidence in.

Florida Power of Attorney Sample

It is sensible to have a clear idea of what your final Power of Attorney document will look and sound like to read. This can help you properly complete the form on your own so it is properly valid and taken seriously. Read through our Florida Power of Attorney sample below to learn how yours should appear when done.

PDF WORD

Power of Attorney FAQs

There are a lot of important details that you should be clear about before starting your Power of Attorney form. If you’re still unsure about some of the information required or the things you’ll need to take into consideration, read through our FAQs for the answers you need.

What Are Some Uses of a Power of Attorney?

A Florida Power of Attorney can be useful in many situations. First and foremost, it allows you to plan for circumstances where you are unable to adequately manage your own affairs. This may be a situation where you’d like to delegate your decision-making capacity in either healthcare or financial affairs to a trusted professional or friend.

How to Revoke a Power of Attorney in Florida?

A Principal can revoke a Florida POA at any time. All they need to do is write to the Agent and any institutions where the Power of Attorney instructions are stored and to inform them the document has been revoked and is no longer valid.

However, if the Principal has become incapacitated the process can be a little more complicated. If the appointing individual no longer has the capacity to withdraw the POA on their own, it will be necessary to take the matter to court so conservatorship can be appointed.

Who Should Be Your Florida POA Agent?

When choosing the right Agent for your Florida POA, it is essential to pick a person (or people) that you trust implicitly. By granting Power of Attorney to someone you allow them to hold a large amount of responsibility for your financial or even bodily wellbeing. An Agent therefore must be someone you know will take the actions that serve these interests best.

Where Can I Get a Power of Attorney in Florida?

It’s easy to find and complete a Florida Power of Attorney form online. These can either be downloaded and printed as a blank PDF template or completed prior to printing using web tools.

Alternatively, it is possible to source these documents from a licensed attorney, who can also help with their completion. However, this will of course come with additional costs. Vehicle POAs can also be acquired from Florida DMVs.

You are only a few steps away from your own Florida Power of Attorney!

Download our professional examples

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Preview of your Florida Power of Attorney

DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY

I, _________, presently residing at _________, telephone number _________, and email address _________, hereby name, constitute and appoint _________ of _________, telephone number _________, and email address _________, as my Agent ("Attorney-in-Fact"), if living and able to act, to exercise the powers and discretions described below.

This durable power of attorney will not be affected by my subsequent incapacity except as provided in chapter 709, Florida Statutes.

My Agent shall have full power and authority to act on my behalf. This power and authority shall authorize my Agent to manage and conduct all of my affairs and to exercise all of my legal rights and powers, including all rights and powers that I may acquire in the future. By initialing, I, _________, grant my Agent the power to act with respect to the subjects below:

________ Real property transactions
________ Tangible personal property
________ Stocks and bonds as provided in Florida Statutes section 709.2208(2)
________ Commodity and options
________ Bank and other financial institutions as provided in Florida Statutes section 709.2208(1)
________ Operation of entity or business
________ Estates, trusts, and other beneficial interests
________ Insurance and annuity transactions
________ Claims and litigation
________ Personal and family maintenance
________ Benefits from governmental programs or civil or military service
________ Retirement plans
________ Taxes

I hereby grant to my Agent the full right, power, and authority to perform any and every act, power, duty, deed, right or thing necessary or advisable to be done regarding the above powers, as fully as I might or could do if personally present and acting.

Any power or authority granted to my Agent under this document shall be limited, to the extent necessary, to prevent this Power of Attorney from causing, (i) my income to be taxable to my Agent, (ii) my assets to be subject to a general power of appointment by my Agent, or (iii) my Agent to have any incidents of ownership with respect to any life insurance policies that I may own on the life of my Agent.

My Agent shall not be liable for any loss that results from a judgment error that was made in good faith. However, my Agent shall be liable for willful misconduct or the failure to act in good faith while acting under the authority of this Power of Attorney. A Successor Agent shall not be liable for acts of a prior Agent.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

My Agent is entitled to reasonable compensation for any services provided as my Agent. My Agent is also entitled to reimbursement of all reasonable expenses incurred as a result of carrying out any provision of this Power of Attorney.

My Agent shall provide an accounting for all funds handled, and all acts performed as my Agent as required under state law or upon my request or the request of any authorized personal representative, fiduciary, or court of record acting on my behalf. If so requested, within 60 days the agent shall comply with the request or provide a writing or other record substantiating why additional time is needed and shall comply with the request within an additional 60 days.

This Power of Attorney is granted to and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Florida; however, I intend that this Power of Attorney be universally recognized and that it be universally admissible to recordation. In the event that I become a resident of another jurisdiction, or obtain property, including real property or any other property interest, in another jurisdiction, it remains my intention that the laws of Florida shall continue to govern this Power of Attorney.

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Power of Attorney takes effect immediately, and shall not be affected by my disability or lack of mental competence, except as may be provided otherwise by an applicable state statute. This is a Durable Power of Attorney. This Power of Attorney shall continue to be effective until my death. This Power of Attorney may be revoked by me at any time by providing written notice to my Agent.

Dated ____________________, ______, at _________, _________.

__________________________________
_________

The foregoing power of attorney was, on the date written above, published and declared by _________ in our presence to be his/her power of attorney. We, in his/her presence and at his/her request, and in the presence of each other, have attested to the same and have signed our names as attesting witnesses.

Witness Signature: ________________________________

Name: _________
Address: _________
Telephone Number: _________
Email Address: _________

Witness Signature: ________________________________

Name: _________
Address: _________
Telephone Number: _________
Email Address: _________

, ss:

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me, by means of physical presence or online notarization, this _____ day of ____________________, ______ by _________, who is personally known to me or who has produced ________________________________ as identification.

_________________________________
Signature of person taking acknowledgment

_________________________________
Name typed, printed, or stamped

My commission expires ______________

Notice to Person Executing Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is an important legal document. By signing the Power of Attorney, you are authorizing another person to act for you, the principal. Before you sign this Power of Attorney, you should know these important facts:

Your Agent (attorney-in-fact) has no duty to act unless you and your Agent agree otherwise in writing. However, once your agent takes on a responsibility, he or she has a duty to act prudently.

This document gives your Agent the powers to manage, dispose of, sell and convey your real and personal property, and to use your property as security if your Agent borrows money on your behalf, unless you provide otherwise in this Power of Attorney.

Your Agent will have the right to receive reasonable payment for services provided under this Power of Attorney, unless you provide otherwise in this Power of Attorney.

The powers you give your Agent will continue to exist for your entire life unless you state that the Power of Attorney will last for a shorter period of time or unless you otherwise terminate the Power of Attorney. The powers you give your Agent in this Power of Attorney will continue to exist even if you can no longer make your own decisions respecting the management of your property, unless you provide otherwise in this Power of Attorney.

You can change or correct the terms of this Power of Attorney only by executing a new Power of Attorney, or by executing an amendment through the same formalities as an original. You have the right to revoke or terminate this Power of Attorney at any time, so long as you are competent.

This Power of Attorney must be dated and signed by you and must be acknowledged before a notary public and signed by two subscribing witnesses. The witnesses must be mentally competent, and they must witness the principal's signing of the Power of Attorney. Best practices are that the Notary Public is not one of the two subscribing witnesses and that none of the witnesses is an Agent under this Power of Attorney.

You should read this Power of Attorney carefully. When effective, this Power of Attorney will give your Agent the right to deal with property that you now have or might acquire in the future. The Power of Attorney is important to you. If you do not understand the Power of Attorney, or any provision of it, then you should obtain the assistance of an attorney or other qualified person.

Notice to Person Accepting the Appointment as Attorney-in-Fact

By exercising authority, performing duties as an agent, or agreeing to act as the agent (attorney-in-fact) under this power of attorney, you assume the fiduciary duties and other legal responsibilities of an agent. These duties and responsibilities include:

1. The legal duty to act only within the scope of authority granted in the power of attorney.

2. In exercising that authority, you may not act contrary to the principal's reasonable expectations and solely in the interest of the principal, in order to avoid any conflicts of interest. Moreover, you have the legal duty to identify yourself as Agent whenever you act on behalf of the principal by printing the name of the principal and signing your name followed by the words "as Agent".

3. Must act in good faith and may not act contrary to the principal's best interest. Thus, you have the legal duty to keep a record of all transactions made on behalf of the principal, including the responsibility to produce receipts, ledgers, and other records of all deposits, disbursements, or other transactions involving the principal's assets or indebtedness.

4. Must attempt to preserve the principal’s estate plan, to the extent actually known by you, the Agent, if preserving the plan is consistent with the principal’s best interest based on all relevant factors.

5. Act loyally for the sole benefit of the principal; Act so as not to create a conflict of interest that impairs the agent’s ability to act impartially in the principal’s best interest; Act with the care, competence, and diligence ordinarily exercised by agents in similar circumstances; and Cooperate with a person who has authority to make health care decisions for the principal in order to carry out the principal’s reasonable expectations to the extent actually known by you.

6. The legal duty to keep the principal's property separate and distinct from any other property owned or controlled by you.

7. The legal duty to terminate actions as Agent (Attorney-in-Fact) under this Power of Attorney upon the occurrence of any of the following:

a. The principal's death;
b. Revocation of the Power of Attorney of the principal;
c. The arrival of any date stated in the Power of Attorney, which states the termination of the Power of Attorney, if any; or
d. No additional action is required under the Power of Attorney.

8. If you are the spouse of the principal, the Power of Attorney terminates upon legal separation or dissolution of the marriage.

9. You may be held responsible and liable for any intentional actions which violate or abuse your authority under this Power of Attorney as provided by the state and federal laws governing this Power of Attorney.

10. You have the right to seek legal advice if you do not understand your duties as Agent or any provisions in the Power of Attorney.

You may not transfer the principal's property to yourself without full and adequate consideration or accept a gift of the principal's property unless this Power of Attorney specifically authorizes you to transfer property to yourself or accept a gift of the principal's property. If you transfer the principal's property to yourself without specific authorization in the Power of Attorney, you may be prosecuted for fraud and/or embezzlement. If the principal is 65 years of age or older at the time that the property is transferred to you without authority, you may also be prosecuted for elder abuse. In addition to criminal prosecution, you may be sued in civil court.

I have read the foregoing notice and I understand the legal and fiduciary duties that I assume by acting or agreeing to act as the Agent (Attorney-in-Fact) under the terms of this Power of Attorney.

Date:

Signed:

_________________________________
_________