Financial Power of Attorney - Minnesota

MINNESOTA DURABLE FINANCIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

Important Information

This is a customized power of attorney under Minn. Stat. § 523.01. It is not the verbatim Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney in § 523.23. A person who wants the statutory short form should use the current official form in § 523.23, including its Important Notice to the Principal, Important Notice to the Attorney(s)-in-Fact, Principal's initials and Attorney-in-Fact acknowledgment.

This document authorizes the Attorney-in-Fact to act only within checked or expressly stated authority. It does not authorize health-care decisions under Chapter 145C.

Under § 523.01, a Minnesota power is validly executed when it is written, dated and signed by a competent adult Principal. A signature made for the Principal by another person, or by the Principal's mark, must be acknowledged before a notary public. This form includes an acknowledgment even when the Principal signs personally because notarization may assist acceptance and recording.

1. Principal and Attorney-in-Fact

I, [PRINCIPAL FULL LEGAL NAME], of [PRINCIPAL ADDRESS], appoint:

Attorney-in-Fact: [PRIMARY ATTORNEY-IN-FACT NAME]

Address: [ADDRESS]

Telephone and Email: [CONTACT INFORMATION]

to act for me within the authority granted by this durable financial power of attorney.

2. Successors and Multiple Attorneys-in-Fact

If the primary Attorney-in-Fact dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to serve, I appoint:

First Successor: [NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE, EMAIL]

If that person does not serve or ceases serving, I appoint:

Second Successor: [NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE, EMAIL]

If more than one Attorney-in-Fact serves at the same time, choose one:

☐ Each Attorney-in-Fact may independently exercise the authority granted.

☐ All serving Attorneys-in-Fact must jointly exercise the authority granted.

Additional instructions:

[____________________________________________________________]

3. Grant of Financial Authority

For each category checked below, I expressly grant and incorporate the authority described for that category in Minn. Stat. § 523.24, subject to this document. An unchecked category is withheld unless category (N) is checked.

Real Property Limitation (Optional)

Limit category (A) to real property in [COUNTY] County, Minnesota, legally described as follows. Use a legal description, not only a street address.

[LEGAL DESCRIPTION]

4. Digital Assets and Electronic Communications

Choose separately because Chapter 523's statutory categories predate Minnesota's digital-assets statute.

☐ I expressly grant general authority over my digital assets and the catalog of my electronic communications under Minn. Stat. § 521A.10.

☐ I expressly grant authority over the content of electronic communications sent or received by me under Minn. Stat. § 521A.09.

Accounts, custodians or limits:

[____________________________________________________________]

An online tool supplied by a custodian and the custodian's terms may affect disclosure. A Minnesota attorney should coordinate this power with any online directions.

5. Gifts and Transactions Benefiting the Attorney-in-Fact

Checking category (H) does not by itself authorize gifts to an Attorney-in-Fact or a person the Attorney-in-Fact is legally obligated to support. Choose one:

☐ I do not authorize any Attorney-in-Fact to make gifts to that Attorney-in-Fact or to anyone that Attorney-in-Fact is legally obligated to support.

☐ I authorize only the following named Attorney(s)-in-Fact to make such gifts, subject to the annual aggregate federal gift-tax-exclusion limit stated in Minn. Stat. § 523.24, subdivision 8, clause (2), unless narrower limits are written below:

Authorized Attorney(s)-in-Fact: [NAME OR NAMES]

Recipients or class: [RECIPIENTS]

Property or amount: [PROPERTY OR AMOUNT]

Frequency, purpose and limits: [TERMS]

If category (H) is unchecked, no gift authority is granted.

6. Durability and Commencement

Choose one durability statement. Section 523.07 requires words showing the Principal's intent concerning later incapacity or incompetence.

☐ This power of attorney shall not be affected by incapacity or incompetence of the Principal. It is effective when signed and remains effective during later incapacity or incompetence.

☐ This power of attorney shall become effective upon the incapacity or incompetence of the Principal. Incapacity or incompetence must be established as follows: [DECISION MAKER, EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE].

Minnesota Chapter 523 does not supply the one-physician or two-physician default stated in the prior draft. A springing power must define its own workable trigger.

7. Expiration

Choose one:

☐ This power has no stated expiration date and continues until terminated or revoked under applicable law.

☐ This power expires on [MONTH/DAY/YEAR].

8. Duties, Records and Accounting

Under Minn. Stat. § 523.21, the Attorney-in-Fact must keep complete records of transactions for the Principal. The Attorney-in-Fact has no affirmative duty to exercise authority, but when exercising authority must act as an ordinarily prudent person of discretion and intelligence would manage that person's own affairs and must keep the Principal's interests utmost in mind.

Section 523.21 does not impose the prior draft's universal 30-day accounting deadline. An accounting is required when the Principal requests one, when this document requires one and names the recipient, or when the Attorney-in-Fact reimburses the Attorney-in-Fact for an expenditure made for the Principal.

Choose one:

☐ No periodic accounting is required beyond applicable law.

☐ The Attorney-in-Fact must provide [MONTHLY / QUARTERLY / ANNUAL] accountings to:

Recipient: [NAME AND ADDRESS]

☐ The Attorney-in-Fact must provide an accounting upon this additional event: [EVENT].

An Attorney-in-Fact is personally liable to a person injured by an action taken in bad faith or by failure to account when a duty to account exists. This document creates no liability cap, indemnity for breach, invented cure period or force-majeure release.

9. Compensation and Reimbursement

Choose one:

☐ The Attorney-in-Fact shall serve without compensation but may reimburse properly documented expenditures authorized by this power.

☐ Compensation is authorized only as follows: [RATE, FORMULA, APPROVAL, FREQUENCY AND LIMITS], plus properly documented authorized expenditures.

☐ Neither compensation nor reimbursement is authorized except as required by law or court order.

10. Revocation and Termination

Under Minn. Stat. § 523.11, I may revoke this power only by a written instrument of revocation signed by me. If another person signs the revocation for me, or I sign by mark, the revocation must be acknowledged before a notary public.

Revocation is not effective against a party until that party has actual notice by receiving the written revocation. For real-property transactions, recording a written revocation containing the property's legal description in the proper county office can constitute actual notice as stated in § 523.11.

Under § 523.08, this durable power terminates on the earliest of my death, a stated expiration date, or, if the Attorney-in-Fact is my spouse, commencement of a proceeding for dissolution, separation or annulment of our marriage. A Minnesota lawyer should address a successor plan because the statute describes termination of the power, not merely removal of the spouse.

My conservator or guardian has the authority stated in § 523.11 to revoke, suspend or terminate all or part of this power.

This document does not automatically revoke an earlier power. Choose one:

☐ I preserve all earlier powers except to the extent they cannot operate consistently with this document.

☐ I revoke only this earlier power by a separate written revocation: [IDENTIFY].

☐ I revoke all earlier financial powers by a separate written revocation delivered as required by § 523.11, except: [IDENTIFY PRESERVED POWERS].

11. Judicial Relief

Under Minn. Stat. § 523.26, the Principal or an interested person may petition the court for a protective order directing an accounting on a court-ordered schedule or for other protective relief. The statute awards reasonable attorney fees and costs to the Principal or a named accounting recipient when the court finds that the Attorney-in-Fact failed to provide an accounting after the duty arose.

This document does not create an exclusive Probate Division forum, require arbitration, waive a jury, or create a general prevailing-party fee rule.

12. Special Instructions and Limitations

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

[____________________________________________________________]

13. Principal's Signature and Acknowledgment

I have reviewed this customized power and understand that it is not the verbatim statutory short form in § 523.23.

Principal's Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name: [PRINCIPAL NAME]

Date: [DATE]

Signature by Another Person or by Mark (Use Only If Applicable)

Principal's Name Signed: ______________________________________

Signature of Directed Signer or Principal's Mark: ______________________________________

Printed Name of Directed Signer: [NAME]

Date: [DATE]

Notarial Acknowledgment

STATE OF MINNESOTA

County of [COUNTY]

The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me on [DATE] by [PRINCIPAL NAME].

Signature of Notary Public or Other Official: ______________________________________

Printed Name and Title: [NAME AND TITLE]

Commission Expiration: [DATE]

14. Attorney-in-Fact Acknowledgment and Specimen Signature

Before acting, each Attorney-in-Fact should read this document and the current Important Notice to Attorney(s)-in-Fact in the official § 523.23 form. By signing below, I accept appointment and acknowledge that:

1. I have no duty to exercise the authority granted, but when I act I must keep the Principal's interests utmost in mind;
2. I must use the prudence required by § 523.21, keep complete records and provide accountings when a duty arises;
3. I may act only within authority granted and must stop when I have actual knowledge that the power has terminated or been revoked; and
4. I may be personally liable for bad-faith acts or failure to account when required.

Attorney-in-Fact's Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name: [NAME]

Date: [DATE]

Successor Attorney-in-Fact's Signature: ______________________________________

Printed Name: [NAME]

Date: [DATE]

Sources and References

• Minn. Stat. Chapter 523 — Powers of Attorney
• Minn. Stat. § 523.01 — Authorization and execution
• Minn. Stat. § 523.07 — Durable power of attorney
• Minn. Stat. § 523.08 — Termination of a durable power
• Minn. Stat. § 523.11 — Written revocation and actual notice
• Minn. Stat. § 523.21 — Duties and accounting
• Minn. Stat. § 523.23 — Official statutory short form
• Minn. Stat. § 523.24 — Construction of statutory authority categories
• Minn. Stat. § 523.26 — Judicial relief
• Minn. Stat. §§ 521A.09 and 521A.10 — Digital assets