Power of Attorney Acceptance and Refusal Rules in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Acknowledgment and first response

The statutory acceptance clock applies to an acknowledged power, meaning one purportedly verified before a notary or other authorized person (§ 556.219(7)). Within seven business days after presentation, the recipient generally must accept or request permitted material. It may not insist on a replacement power or agent acknowledgment where the presented documents satisfy the stated conditions (§ 556.220(1)).

Verification and later response

For a durable power presented without the acting agent's separately signed duties acknowledgment, the recipient may request it (§ 556.219(3)). It may also request a factual certification from the agent or counsel, a translation whose accuracy is certified or supported by opinion, or a reasoned counsel opinion on law (§ 556.219(4)). A timely translation or opinion request generally puts the expense on the principal; a court finding a frivolous opinion request can instead impose its cost on the requester (§ 556.219(5)–(6)).

If more than one item is timely requested, the five-business-day acceptance period begins when all timely requested items arrive, subject to the exceptions (§ 556.220(2)).

Court consequences

An improper refusal can lead to an order mandating acceptance and liability for reasonable attorney fees and costs of an action confirming validity or mandating acceptance. If the recipient requested and received a certification, translation, or opinion before the improper refusal, it can also owe reasonable fees and costs incurred in providing that material (§ 556.220(4)–(5)).

What trips people up

The recipient need not engage in a transaction it would not undertake with the principal. Other exceptions include conflict with federal law or applicable regulator guidance, actual knowledge of termination, a timely proof request that is refused, good-faith authority concerns, an adult-protective-services report, and a qualifying financial-exploitation freeze (§ 556.220(3)).

Common questions

Must the recipient issue a written rejection? Section 556.220 describes acceptance, requests and exceptions without a separate written-refusal notice step.

Does the law protect reliance on an older durable power? The good-faith reliance provision expressly includes a qualifying “vintage durable power,” defined by validity, durability and execution after September 29, 2012 but before this Act took effect (§ 556.219(2), (7)).

Statutes and sources

The quoted Michigan provisions were accessed October 3, 2026 from the Legislature's current section pages and Act 187 compilation.