A power of attorney revocation form is a document used for officially terminating an active power of attorney. It is completed and signed by the principal when they wish to revoke an agent’s power. The reason for revocation may be because the tasks have been completed, the principal wishes to change agents, or they plan on amending and creating a new power of attorney document.
STATE OF [STATE]
COUNTY OF [COUNTY]
I, [PRINCIPAL NAME] , with a mailing address of [PRINCIPAL ADDRESS] , hereby revoke all Powers of Attorney executed prior to [MM/DD/YYYY] , made by me and appointing [ATTORNEY-IN-FACT NAME] as my Attorney-in-Fact, and [SUCCESSOR ATTORNEY-IN-FACT NAME(S)] as my successor Attorney(s)-in-Fact
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on [MM/DD/YYYY] .
Signature of Principal: __________________________
The foregoing Revocation was signed by [PRINCIPAL NAME] in our presence, and we, at their request and in their presence, and in the presence of each other, each of us being over the age of 18 years, have hereunto subscribed our names as Witnesses on [MM/DD/YYYY] .
Signature of Witness: __________________________
Witness Address: [WITNESS ADDRESS]
Signature of Witness: __________________________
Witness Address: [WITNESS ADDRESS]
STATE OF [STATE]
COUNTY OF [COUNTY]
BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, on this day, personally appeared [PRINCIPAL NAME] , who, having been duly sworn, states that he/she is executing this Revocation in the presence of the Witness(es) as shown above and for the purposes therein expressed.
Sworn to, subscribed, and acknowledged before me by [PRINCIPAL NAME] on [MM/DD/YYYY] .
____________________________________
Notary Public
[NOTARY PRINTED NAME]
My Commission Expires: [MM/DD/YYYY]
A POA can only be revoked by the principal if they are of sound mind (i.e., not incapacitated). Those looking to end an active POA can go about it by doing the following:
The principal will need to download and save the document to their computer. From there, the form can be completed using Adobe Acrobat Reader (choose “Adobe PDF”) or by using Microsoft Word (choose “MS Word”).
Not including signatures, the principal will need to enter the following information:
Regardless of whether or not it is required by state law, the principal should have their revocation form notarized . Additionally, having the principal’s signature witnessed by two (2) adults is also highly recommended, and proves that the document is indeed legitimate. If the principal is worried that the agent might be reluctant to relinquish their power, they should take every step available to prove they signed the form willingly and in good mental health.
If the POA being revoked was originally recorded in the county recorder’s office, the revocation document should also be recorded to ensure the original POA is deemed ineffective.
Inform the agent – The most important step the principal has to take is to inform the attorney-in-fact (agent) that their position is terminated. To avoid the agent stating they “never received the form,” the principal should have it delivered via certified mail.
Deliver to 3rd parties – The principal will need to identify all individuals and entities that ever received a copy of the POA. It is extremely important every entity receives a copy of the revocation. For example, if a financial institution had an active POA on file, the agent could fraudulently withdraw funds from the principal’s account, as the financial institution would have no reason to believe the POA was deemed invalid. Examples of places to send a revocation may include the following locations:
Destroy any remaining copies – Any copies that the principal has or that have been collected by 3rd parties should be destroyed by means of shredding or another comparable option.
