Is your Pennsylvania power of attorney actually enforceable?
Most people find out the answer at the worst possible moment: standing at a bank counter, holding a document, being told no.
This checklist lets you find out now instead.
What’s inside
Points 1 to 3
The two-witness and notary requirements
Including the agent-witness rule that catches married couples, and why the notary cannot fill the second slot.
Points 4 to 6
The statutory notice and agent acknowledgment
The two pages most documents are missing, and how to tell within thirty seconds whether yours has them.
Points 7 to 9
Which powers must be granted specifically
Gifting, beneficiary changes, trust creation, and what your agent simply cannot do without express authority.
Points 10 to 12
Bank refusals and pre-2015 documents
The deadlines Pennsylvania law imposes on the institution, and when an older document needs replacing rather than defending.
Use it if any of these is true
Rather have me look at it?
Bring the document to a free 15-minute call. I will tell you whether it holds, and if it does not, what it costs to fix. Reading the checklist first makes that call faster.
This checklist is general information about Pennsylvania law, not legal advice, and reviewing it does not create an attorney-client relationship.