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A Wisconsin general power of attorney is a financial agent appointment form. Wis. Stat. § 244.04 makes it durable unless it expressly ends at the principal's incapacity. Wisconsin residents use it to let a trusted person handle banking, property and tax matters.
This page gives you a free Wisconsin financial power of attorney form, ten steps to fill it out, and a guide to signing it and putting it to use. Start from the printable power of attorney form below, or browse Wisconsin power of attorney forms for other situations.
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A Wisconsin general power of attorney gives your agent authority over your money and property, and you, the principal, choose each power by initialing it on the form. The person you name is your agent, also called an attorney-in-fact. The form can cover powers such as:
For Wisconsin's own statutory form, Wis. Stat. § 244.61 provides that the agent has powers only regarding the subjects initialed on the form. The FormsPal form works the same way: a power you leave blank stays with you.
This document covers money and property only. For health care decisions, use a medical power of attorney form instead.
Yes, by default: Wis. Stat. § 244.04 says a power of attorney created under chapter 244 is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. Durable means your agent can keep handling your finances after you lose the ability to manage them yourself.
The form gives you that choice in its Termination Date section. Under Wis. Stat. § 244.10, a power of attorney terminates when the principal becomes incapacitated only if the power of attorney so provides. Initial the incapacity line in Step 6 only if you want your agent's power to stop at that point.
To get a financial power of attorney in Wisconsin, the principal fills out a form that names an agent and the powers granted, then signs it as Wis. Stat. § 244.05 sets out.
If you want power of attorney over a parent's finances, your parent is the principal. Wis. Stat. § 244.05 says the principal must sign the power of attorney, or an individual 18 years of age or older at the express direction and in the physical presence of the principal must sign the principal's name on it.
Choose as your agent a person you trust with your bank accounts and property, someone organized enough to keep track of bills, payments and paperwork for you. Your decision should be rational. Do not choose a person with little professional expertise or with no idea how to manage such affairs.
Name a successor agent as well. Under Wis. Stat. § 244.10, the power of attorney terminates when the agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns and the power of attorney does not provide for another agent to act under it. The successor steps in if your first agent cannot serve.
The Wisconsin financial power of attorney form includes your details, your agent's details, the powers you grant, start and end options, a successor agent, your signature and an acknowledgment block for the officer.
Wisconsin statutes include a statutory form in Wis. Stat. § 244.61: a document substantially in that form may be used to create a statutory form power of attorney, and an appendix with the text of ss. 244.44 to 244.56 shall be attached to it. The FormsPal form uses its own layout, with effective and termination dates you initial.
| Document Name | Wisconsin General Power of Attorney Form |
| Other Name | Wisconsin Power of Attorney for Finances and Property |
| Relevant Laws | Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 244 (Uniform Power of Attorney for Finances and Property Act) |
| Avg. Time to Fill Out | 10 minutes |
| # of Fillable Fields | 41 |
| Available Formats | Adobe PDF |
Fill out the Wisconsin general power of attorney form in ten steps, from your name and your agent's name on the first lines to the acknowledgment on page 5.
Download the PDF above or use our form-building software to get the template. Then work through these ten steps in order. Each step shows the matching part of the form, so you can compare it with your own copy as you go.
Have these ready before you start:
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Wisconsin 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.
Step 1: Principal and Agent Names and Addresses
Write your name and current address on the first two lines. Then enter the name and address of the person you appoint as your agent. Check that both names match your IDs.
Step 2: Initial the Powers (A) Through (K)
On page 2, initial the line in front of each power you want your agent to have. The list runs from (A) Real property transactions through (K) Benefits from social security, medicare, medicaid, or other governmental programs. Leave a line blank to hold that power back.
Step 3: Initial (L), (M) or (N) All Powers
Initial (L) Retirement plan transactions and (M) Tax matters if you want your agent to have them. To give your agent every power on the list, initial only line (N). The form says you do not need to initial any other line in that case. The Special Instructions below the list have no blanks, so just read them.
Step 4: Effective Date
On page 3, initial one line under Effective Date. The first line starts the power right away. The second line starts it on a date you choose, so write that day and year in the blanks.
Step 5: Termination Date: Written Revocation
Under Termination Date, initial only one line. Initial the first line if the power should end when you sign a written revocation.
Step 6: Termination Date: Set Date or Incapacity
Initial the second line to end the power on a date you set, and write the day and year in the blanks. Initial the third line to end it when you are determined to be incapacitated, as the form defines right below the list.
Step 7: Successor Agent
On page 4, find Successor Attorney-in-Fact. Enter your agent's name, then the name and address of the alternate agent who steps in if your first agent cannot serve.
Step 8: Date, Sign and Print Your Name
Read through the whole form once more. When you have nothing else to add, fill in the day, month and year on the Signed line, sign on the signature line and print your name below it.
Step 9: Acknowledgment: County, Date and Officer
Bring the form to the notary. On page 5, enter the county and the date. Then add the name and title of the notary or other officer and your name as the person who appears before them.
Step 10: Notary Signature and Seal
The notary or other officer signs on the Signature line and adds the seal. This line is for the officer, not for you.
Sign the Wisconsin power of attorney yourself and acknowledge it before a notary: Wis. Stat. § 244.05 presumes the signature genuine if the principal makes an acknowledgment before a notarial officer authorized under ch. 140 to take acknowledgments.
| Signing option | What the statute says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| You sign | The principal must sign the power of attorney. | Wis. Stat. § 244.05 |
| Someone signs for you | An individual 18 years of age or older may sign the principal's name, only at the express direction and in the physical presence of the principal. | Wis. Stat. § 244.05 |
| Notary acknowledgment | The signature is presumed genuine if the principal makes an acknowledgment before a notarial officer authorized under ch. 140 to take acknowledgments. | Wis. Stat. § 244.05 |
| Two remote witnesses | The signature is presumed genuine if 2 witnesses watch by simultaneous 2-way, real-time audiovisual communication technology, only if all conditions of the section are satisfied, including: an attorney in good standing licensed by this state supervises the signing (and may serve as one of the witnesses); the principal and each witness attest to being physically located in this state during the call; and the power of attorney indicates that it is being executed pursuant to this section. | Wis. Stat. § 244.05 |
The FormsPal form has an acknowledgment block on page 5 for the notary option. The remote witness option needs a supervising Wisconsin attorney and wording in the document itself, under Wis. Stat. § 244.05, so it fits an attorney-led signing rather than this printable form.
Acknowledge the Document
Bring the signed form to the officer and let them complete the acknowledgment on page 5, as Steps 9 and 10 show.
A Wisconsin power of attorney is effective when executed unless the principal provides in it that it becomes effective at a future date or upon the occurrence of a future event or contingency, under Wis. Stat. § 244.09(1).
On the FormsPal form, you make that choice in Step 4: the first line starts the power right away, and the second line starts it on a date you choose.
Your agent accepts the appointment by acting under it (Wis. Stat. § 244.13); the power itself takes effect when you sign it or on the later date you chose (Wis. Stat. § 244.09(1)). Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney, Wis. Stat. § 244.13 says a person accepts appointment as an agent by exercising authority or performing duties as an agent, or by any other assertion or conduct indicating acceptance.
When a bank or another business asks for proof, your agent can use the optional agent's certification form in Wis. Stat. § 244.62. On it, the agent certifies under penalty of perjury that, to the agent's knowledge, the principal is alive and has not revoked the power of attorney or the agent's authority.
A Wisconsin power of attorney ends when you revoke it, when it terminates by its own terms or when its purpose is accomplished, among the events Wis. Stat. § 244.10 lists.
The agent's notice in Wisconsin's statutory form, Wis. Stat. § 244.61, names the death of the principal first among the events that terminate a power of attorney.
Revoke it if you no longer need an agent or you suspect your agent of misusing the power. On the FormsPal form, the first Termination Date line (Step 5) ends the power when you sign a written revocation.
A new power of attorney does not cancel an old one by itself. Under Wis. Stat. § 244.10, the execution of a power of attorney does not revoke a power of attorney previously executed by the principal unless the new one provides that the previous power of attorney is revoked or that all other powers of attorney are revoked.
Tell your agent and everyone holding a copy. Wis. Stat. § 244.10 says termination is not effective as to the agent or another person that, without actual knowledge of the termination, acts in good faith under the power of attorney.
A general financial power of attorney deals with money and property, while a medical power of attorney deals with health care decisions. In Wisconsin, a power of attorney for health care must be in writing, dated, signed and voluntarily executed in the presence of 2 witnesses who meet the section's requirements, under Wis. Stat. § 155.10. Pick the form that matches what you want your agent to handle.
The notice printed in Wisconsin's statutory form, Wis. Stat. § 244.61, says that unless you specify otherwise, the agent's authority generally continues until you die or revoke the power of attorney or the agent resigns or is unable to act. Matters after death fall outside the power of attorney and this page.
The notice in Wisconsin's statutory form, Wis. Stat. § 244.61, says your agent is entitled to reasonable compensation unless you state otherwise in the special instructions. Agree on pay with your agent before you sign.
Wisconsin's statutory form names one agent, and its notice in Wis. Stat. § 244.61 says you may name a coagent in the special instructions; coagents are not required to act together unless you include that requirement there. The FormsPal form names one agent and one successor agent.
Under Wis. Stat. § 244.10, your spouse's authority as agent terminates when an action is filed for the dissolution or annulment of the marriage or for legal separation, unless the power of attorney otherwise provides. The same section ends a domestic partner's authority when the domestic partnership under ch. 770 is terminated, unless the power of attorney otherwise provides.
The details table above lists an average of 10 minutes for the 41 fillable fields. Have the names, addresses and dates ready before you start.
Yes. Download the PDF and fill in the fields with the FormsPal PDF editor, or print it and write in your answers by hand.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
