Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Michigan replaced its durable power of attorney law on 1 July 2024. The old sections everyone still cites are repealed. Under the new act, being effective and being durable have different requirements — a signature alone makes it effective, but durability needs a notary or two witnesses.
First: the citation most sources still give you is dead law
700.5501-700.5505 Repealed. 2023, Act 187, Eff. July 1, 2024. Compiler’s Notes: The repealed sections pertained to the execution, application, and revocation of a durable power of attorney.
— MCL §§700.5501–700.5505, repealed by 2023 PA 187, eff. July 1, 2024
MCL 700.5501 to 700.5505 governed Michigan durable powers of attorney for decades and are repealed. If a form, an article or a template cites them, it predates July 2024. That is the first thing to check on any Michigan power of attorney you are handed.
The two-tier structure — effective is not the same as durable
(1) To be effective, a power of attorney created on or after the effective date of this act must be signed by 1 of the following individuals: (a) The principal. (b) If signed in the principal’s conscious presence, another individual directed by the principal to sign the principal’s name. (2) To be durable, a power of attorney signed under subsection (1)(a) must meet 1 of the following requirements: (a) Be acknowledged by the principal before a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments. (b) Be signed in the presence of 2 witnesses, both of whom also sign the power, subject to both of the following: (i) A witness may not be an agent nominated in the power. (ii) One of the witnesses may be an individual who also acts, in the principal’s execution of the power, as a notary public or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments. (3) To be durable, a power of attorney signed under subsection (1)(b) must be signed in the presence of 2 witnesses as described in subsection (2)(b), regardless of whether the power is acknowledged.
— MCL §556.205(1)-(3) (2023 PA 187, Sec. 105)
Read it as two questions, because the statute does:
Is it effective? It must be signed by the principal, or by another individual in the principal’s conscious presence at the principal’s direction. That is all subsection (1) asks.
Is it durable — does it survive incapacity? That is a separate test, and it is the one that matters, because a power of attorney that dies on incapacity is useless for the situation people buy one for. Where the principal signed, durability needs either a notary acknowledgement or two witnesses who also sign.
And the two tiers interact. Where someone else signed for the principal under (1)(b), subsection (3) removes the choice: it must be signed before two witnesses regardless of whether it is acknowledged. A notary alone is not enough in that case.
The witness rules are narrow but specific
- A witness may not be an agent nominated in the power. That is the only categorical exclusion — relatives and heirs are not barred on the face of the section.
- One witness may also be the notary. The statute says so expressly, which resolves a question other states leave open.
Witnesses alone cost you the presumption — and more
(4) A signature on a power of attorney is presumed to be genuine if the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments. (5) A signature on a power of attorney that is witnessed as described in subsection (2)(b) but is not acknowledged by the principal before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments is not entitled to the presumption of genuineness under subsection (4), and the power is not acknowledged within the meaning of sections 119 and 120.
— MCL §556.205(4)-(5)
This is the subtlety worth carrying. Two witnesses make a power of attorney durable. They do not make the signature presumed genuine, and the statute goes further: such a power is not “acknowledged” within the meaning of sections 119 and 120 — the provisions that govern third-party acceptance and reliance.
So the witnesses-only route produces a durable instrument that a bank or title company has weaker grounds to rely on. Use the notary, and use two witnesses as well if the principal is not signing personally. That combination satisfies every branch of the section at once.
When a bank refuses a power of attorney
How Michigan differs from its neighbours
Michigan is the only state we have published where durability and effectiveness are separately tested. Compare:
- Colorado: one standard, no witnesses, durable by default.
- Connecticut: one standard, two witnesses required, durable by default.
- Michigan: two standards, and durability must be earned by notary or witnesses.
What could not be verified
We have quoted MCL 556.205 in full and the repeal note for MCL 700.5501 to 700.5505. We have not verified whether Michigan publishes a free official statutory form under the new act, so that field is left blank rather than guessed. Sections 119 and 120 on third-party acceptance, agent duties, and the treatment of instruments executed before 1 July 2024 are not covered here — and that last point matters: an older Michigan power of attorney is governed by the law in force when it was signed, not by this act.
Related: power of attorney requirements by state.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits or the document is signed, and formalities differ from state to state — execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs.