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A financial power of attorney is a document appointing your financial agent. Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 requires your dated signature, plus a notary or two or more qualifying witnesses. Anyone in Washington handing over financial tasks can build or download this free FormsPal form.
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A Washington general financial power of attorney lets you, the principal, appoint an agent, also called an attorney-in-fact, to manage your financial affairs. This can include various tasks such as accessing bank accounts, managing real estate transactions, handling investments, and dealing with taxes.
This type of power of attorney is considered “general” because it can cover a broad range of financial matters. Your agent holds the powers you initial on the form.
A financial POA is a kind of power of attorney, aimed at your money and property rather than your health care. The notice at the top of page 1 says the document does not authorize anyone to make medical or other health-care decisions for you.
A financial POA fits when you want someone you trust to handle money tasks for you, such as a property sale, tax matters or bank business while you are away. You stay the principal, and the form records which powers your agent holds and when they start and end.
A different form can suit your goal when you want wording that clearly shows durable authority or the job is narrower, medical, or tied to your child:
This table sums up the FormsPal template for a Washington general financial power of attorney, the financial POA paperwork you can build online or download as a PDF. It lists the document name, the other name people use for it, the average time to fill it out, the number of fillable fields in the PDF, and the file format.
| Document Name | Washington General Power of Attorney Form |
| Other Name | Washington Financial Power of Attorney |
| Relevant Laws | Revised Code of Washington, Chapter 11.125 |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 10 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 41 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
The FormsPal form lets you grant financial powers line by line: you initial each power you choose, or initial the all-powers line to grant them all. Some of the lines it prints are:
The form prints more lines between (A) and (K), so read them all before you initial any. A line you leave blank is a power you withhold. To limit a power you do grant, write the limit in the Special Instructions section.
A Washington power of attorney ends when the principal becomes incapacitated unless its writing shows the authority is meant to continue, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.040. That wording is the difference between a durable power of attorney and one that is not durable. General describes how broad the powers are, and durable describes whether the authority continues through incapacity, so a general power of attorney can be either under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.040.
| Question | Writing without such words | Writing with such words | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the authority exercisable after the principal's incapacity? | No, the authority terminates upon the principal's incapacity | Yes, when the words show the principal's intent that the authority be exercisable notwithstanding incapacity | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.040 |
Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.040 names two sentences as examples, and similar words showing the same intent also count:
The second example makes the authority effective upon disability under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.040, a setup known as a springing power of attorney.
A general durable POA pairs broad powers with words like those above. This page does not confirm that the form prints such words, so before you count on this document after an incapacity, read the whole form for them, and get legal advice if you cannot tell.
These steps follow the FormsPal template you can download from this page, which runs five pages. Before you start, read the notice at the top of page 1. It warns that the powers are broad and that the document does not authorize medical or other health-care decisions.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Washington General Financial Power of Attorney template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
Principal and agent
Write your name and address in the first two blanks on page 1, then your agent's name and address in the next two. Pick someone you trust with your finances.
Initial powers (A) to (K)
You must initial next to the specific powers you want to grant your agent. Page 2 lists them from (A) Real property transactions through (K) Benefits from social security, medicare, medicaid, or other governmental programs. Leave the line blank for any power you want to withhold.
Powers (L) to (N) and the all-powers line
Initial (L) Retirement plan transactions and (M) Tax matters if you want to grant them. To grant every power, initial only line (N), All of the powers listed above. The form says you do not need to initial any other line in that case.
Three Special Instructions are already printed after the list. If you want to place any specific instructions or limitations on your agent’s powers, write them in the “Special Instructions” section.
Effective date
Initial one line to choose when the power of attorney starts: effective immediately, or effective on a date. If you pick the date line, write in the date and year.
Termination date: written revocation
The termination block asks you to initial one line. The first line ends the power of attorney when you have signed a written revocation.
Termination on a date or on incapacity
The other two lines end the power of attorney on a date you write in, or when you are determined to be incapacitated, as the form defines on the next page. Initial only the line you choose, and fill in the date and year if you pick the date line.
Successor attorney-in-fact
Write your agent's name, then the name and address of the alternate agent who takes over if the first agent is unable or unwilling to serve.
Sign and date
On page 4, fill in the day, month, and year on the "Signed this" line. Sign above the (signature) label, and print your name below it.
Acknowledgment: county, date and officer
Page 5 holds the notary's Acknowledgment. Its blanks cover the county, the date, the officer's name and title, and your name as the person who appeared.
Notary signature and seal
The officer signs on the Signature line and adds the seal. Leave this line blank for the notary.
To sign a Washington financial power of attorney, you date and sign it, then either acknowledge your signature before a notary or have two or more qualifying witnesses attest it, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050. The table sets out each part of that rule.
| Part of the rule | What the statute says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Principal | The principal signs and dates the power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 |
| Notary route | The signature is acknowledged before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 |
| Witness route, in place of the notary route | Two or more competent witnesses attest the signature by subscribing their names, while in the presence of the principal and at the principal's direction or request | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 |
| Who cannot be a witness | A home care provider for the principal; a care provider at an adult family home or long-term care facility in which the principal resides; anyone related to the principal or agent by blood, marriage, or state registered domestic partnership | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 |
| Proof of the signature | The signature is presumed to be genuine if the principal acknowledges it before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 |
Choose notary or witnesses
Page 5 holds the notary's Acknowledgment. Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 gives an acknowledged signature the presumption of being genuine, a point in favor of the notary route.
Sign and date the form
On page 4, fill in the day, month, and year on the "Signed this" line. Sign above the (signature) label, and print your name below it.
Complete your route
For the notary route, acknowledge your signature before the officer. Leave the officer's name, signature, and seal for that person to fill in. For the witness route, each qualifying witness subscribes their name in your presence and at your direction or request, as Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 requires.
Distribute copies
Once the signing is complete, make copies for yourself, your agent, and any financial institutions where they will have the authority to act on your behalf.
A Washington power of attorney ends on the events listed in Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100, such as the principal's death or revocation, and an agent's authority can end on its own earlier. The form's termination lines let you add the ending you choose.
| Event | What ends | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The principal dies | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The principal becomes incapacitated, if the power of attorney is not durable | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The principal revokes the power of attorney | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The power of attorney provides that it terminates | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The purpose of the power of attorney is accomplished | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The principal revokes the agent's authority or the agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns, and the power of attorney does not provide for another agent | The power of attorney | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The principal revokes the agent's authority | The agent's authority | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns | The agent's authority | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| An action is filed for dissolution or annulment of the agent's marriage or state registered domestic partnership with the principal, or for their legal separation, unless the power of attorney otherwise provides | The agent's authority | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
| The power of attorney terminates | The agent's authority | Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100 |
Time alone does not end an agent's authority: unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, the authority stays exercisable until a listed event ends it, despite a lapse of time since signing, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100.
A new power of attorney does not revoke an earlier one unless the new document says it revokes the earlier one or all other powers of attorney, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100.
An agent's authority ended by such a case is reinstated effective immediately if the action is dismissed with the consent of both parties or the petition is withdrawn, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100.
Termination is not effective as to an agent or another person who acts in good faith under the power of attorney without actual knowledge of the termination, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100. Such an act, unless otherwise invalid or unenforceable, binds the principal and the principal's successors in interest, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100. The same protection covers a person acting in good faith without actual knowledge of the principal's incapacity under a power of attorney that is not durable, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100. So if you revoke, tell your agent and every institution holding a copy right away.
Yes, you can fill it out online: FormsPal's template asks a few simple questions and builds the document for you. You can save your progress, finish on any device, and download or print the result. If you prefer to work in the downloaded file, you can fill in the PDF with the FormsPal PDF editor.
The FormsPal form is free to download, and this page lists no notary or lawyer charge because its legal sources give no figure. Ask the notary about any charge before your appointment.
A financial agent can access bank accounts when the powers you grant cover that task. Read the form's power lines for the banking entry you need, and write any limit in the Special Instructions section.
You can complete this form without a lawyer, and the signing rule in Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.050 names the principal, a notary or other authorized individual, and witnesses, with no mention of a lawyer. A lawyer can still advise you when your finances or family situation are complicated.
The notice at the top of page 1 says the document does not authorize anyone to make medical or other health-care decisions for you.
For the start, you initial one line: effective immediately, or effective on a date you write in. For the end, you initial one of three lines: a signed written revocation, a date you write in, or a determination that you are incapacitated as the form defines.
Yes. The Successor Attorney-in-Fact paragraph on page 4 has blanks for an alternate agent's name and address. That person takes over if the first agent is unable or unwilling to serve. A power of attorney with no other agent named ends if the only agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns, under Wash. Rev. Code § 11.125.100.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
