Power of Attorney Acceptance and Refusal Rules in California

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Presentation and recipient information

A third person generally accords an attorney-in-fact the same rights the principal would have, while keeping the same limits on the underlying transaction (§ 4300). Before a duty to comply arises, the recipient may require identification, signature specimens, other reasonably necessary identifying information, and the principal’s current and permanent addresses (§ 4302). A certified copy has the same force as an original when certified as § 4307 specifies.

Refusal after an affidavit

An agent may supply an affidavit stating lack of actual knowledge of termination by revocation, death or incapacity. For acts undertaken in good-faith reliance, § 4305 makes that affidavit conclusive proof of nontermination at the relevant time. Refusal after such an affidavit can expose the recipient to attorney’s fees incurred to confirm authority, unless the court finds the recipient believed in good faith that the agent lacked qualification or exceeded or misused authority (§ 4306(a)).

Statutory form and court remedy

For a properly executed statutory form, a third person who refuses beyond a reasonable time may be compelled to honor the agent's authority, unless the principal could not compel the transaction. The court shall award the agent fees if it finds the refusal unreasonable. A refusal authorized or required by state or federal law is not unreasonable on that basis; refusing solely because the instrument is not on the recipient's own form is unreasonable (§ 4406). These are court standards, not a fixed response-day deadline.

What trips people up

The principal's ordinary transaction rights remain the limit. A prior breach by the attorney-in-fact can relieve the recipient of a transaction duty (§ 4309). A financial institution need not open a new deposit account for a principal who is not already a depositor or make the requested loan when the principal is not already its borrower (§ 4310). Whether either condition applies depends on the transaction.

California enacted a replacement statutory form in 2026, scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027 under Article IV, § 8(c)(1) of the California Constitution. The replacement form says that a recipient of a copy may act and may seek identification from the agent (§ 4401, as amended by 2026 Cal. Stats. ch. 47). The act leaves the separate § 4406 refusal remedy in place.

Common questions

Must a rejection explain itself in writing? Sections 4306 and 4406 state consequences for refusal but do not prescribe a written-rejection notice step. The applicable instrument and transaction may present other issues beyond these provisions.

Is an uncertified photocopy always ineffective? Section 4307 gives a properly certified copy the same force as the original; it expressly preserves the possibility of good-faith reliance on an uncertified copy.

Statutes and sources

The quoted current Probate Code text, 2026 chaptered act, and constitutional effective-date rule were accessed October 3, 2026.