Power of Attorney Requirements in Utah

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The Uniform Power of Attorney Act is in Title 75A, Chapter 2; § 75A-2-101 is reserved. Title 75, Chapter 13 separately recognizes an electronic durable power of attorney as an electronic estate planning document (§ 75-13-101(5)(b)(iv)).

Who must sign

The principal may direct another individual to sign in the principal's conscious presence. Section 75A-2-105(1)(a)(ii) requires the principal to understand that an agent is being appointed to handle financial affairs; subsection (1)(c) does not require understanding how the agent will manage those affairs.

Notarization

Section 75A-2-105(1)(a)(i) makes signing before a notary or other authorized acknowledgment officer an execution condition. For an electronic document, § 75-13-206 lets an authorized officer attach or logically associate an electronic signature and the other required acknowledgment information.

Statutory form

Section 75A-2-301 permits a document substantially in its published form to create a statutory form power of attorney.

Durable by default?

Section 75A-2-104 makes a power durable unless it expressly states that the principal's incapacity terminates it.

Springing POA allowed?

A principal may choose a later date or event and name a person to determine whether it occurred (§ 75A-2-109(1)-(2)). Subsection (3) names a physician for one type of incapacity and an attorney, judge, or government official for the other.

Real estate extras

For a real property transaction, § 75A-2-106(4) permits recording a copy of the power in the county where the transaction lies, attached to an affidavit of the person accepting it. The text says “may be recorded.”

Out-of-state POAs

Section 75A-2-106(3) recognizes an instrument executed elsewhere if execution met the law selected under § 75A-2-107 or the federal military power rule (10 U.S.C. § 1044b(a)). Section 75A-2-107 selects the jurisdiction named in the document, or where it was executed if none is named.

What trips people up

An internal cross-reference is stale. The fallback procedure in § 75A-2-109(3) points to § 75A-2-102(14)(a) and (b). The current § 75A-2-102 defines incapacity in subsection (8); subsection (14) defines “principal” and has no (a) or (b). The fallback officers are named in § 109, but the referenced incapacity categories no longer line up.

Facility agents face a separate restriction. Under § 75A-2-105(2), a principal residing or about to reside in a hospital, assisted living, skilled nursing, or similar facility generally cannot appoint the facility's owner, operator, health care provider, or employee. The provision excepts a spouse, legal guardian, next of kin, or authority limited to Medicaid eligibility assistance.

Common questions

Can I sign electronically? Title 75, Chapter 13 includes durable powers among the documents it covers. § 75-13-204 and § 75-13-206 recognize an electronic record, electronic signature, and electronic acknowledgment when their conditions are met.

Does an out-of-state POA need to use Utah's form? Section 75A-2-106(3) recognizes execution under the law selected by § 75A-2-107; the optional Utah form in § 75A-2-301 is not the sole route.

Statutes and sources

• Utah Code §§ 75A-2-102, -105 — current § 102 and current § 105, effective May 7, 2025; accessed October 6, 2026.
• Utah Code §§ 75A-2-104, -106, -107, -109 — official Title 75A, Chapter 2, accessed October 6, 2026.
• Utah Code § 75A-2-301 — official Part 3, accessed October 6, 2026.
• Utah Code §§ 75-13-101, -204, -206 — official Chapter 13, effective May 6, 2026; accessed October 6, 2026.
• 10 U.S.C. § 1044b — official 2024 U.S. Code, accessed October 6, 2026.