Question of the Week

Question: Does the creation of a new power of attorney automatically revoke all previous powers of attorney?

Answer: No. For a new power of attorney to revoke a previous POA, the new POA must include language revoking previous POAs. The creation alone (absent revocation language) would not automatically revoke older POAs.

This may mean that, for some individuals, multiple POAs designating multiple agents could all be effective at the same time.

Revocation may also occur through other methods, so make sure to preserve these records when received and to notate accounts accordingly.

It also never hurts, when presented with a new POA, to ask about the status of previous agents.