A power of attorney is a strange document to sign, because you're not agreeing to something — you're handing someone else the ability to agree to things on your behalf. Financial POAs let your agent manage bank accounts, pay bills, or sell property in your name. Medical POAs let your agent make healthcare decisions if you can't. That's a lot of authority to put on one piece of paper, which is exactly why the notarization step matters more here than it does on most documents I handle.
Here's what actually happens when you bring a POA to a notary appointment, and what tends to go wrong.
Who has to be there
The principal — the person granting authority — has to personally appear, with valid photo ID, and sign the document in front of the notary (or acknowledge a signature they already made, depending on the certificate language; see our piece on acknowledgments versus jurats if you want the distinction). The person receiving authority — the agent — usually doesn't need to be present for the notarization itself, though some banks and institutions later ask to see the agent's own ID when the POA is used. If you're not sure whether your receiving institution wants the agent present at signing too, it's worth a quick call to them before the appointment.
What "durable" means, and why it's usually the point
Most POAs people come to us for are meant to stay in effect if the principal later becomes incapacitated — that's what makes a POA "durable," and it's usually the entire reason someone is getting one drawn up in the first place: to have a plan in place before a health crisis makes one necessary. Whether a specific document qualifies as durable under Kansas law depends on how it's drafted, which is a legal question, not a notarial one. If you haven't had the document drafted or reviewed by an attorney yet, that's worth doing before your notary appointment, not after.
The part I take most seriously: capacity
Kansas notaries aren't permitted to notarize a signature if we have a reasonable belief the signer doesn't understand what they're signing, or is being pressured into it. This isn't a formality for me — I've had appointments where I asked a few plain questions ("do you understand this document gives someone else authority to manage your finances?") and paused the signing because the answers made me uncertain. That's not me making a medical determination about dementia or capacity; it's a much lower bar — can this person tell me, in their own words, what they're about to sign. If they can't, I can't proceed, and neither can any other notary acting in good faith.
This matters most with elderly or ill family members, which is exactly the situation my colleague Walt writes about in his caregiver's guide to notarizing medical and financial POAs — it's worth reading before you schedule an appointment for a parent or family member, especially around timing.
The best time to sign a durable power of attorney is well before it's needed — while the person granting it is unquestionably able to understand and explain what they're signing. Waiting until a crisis is already underway is the single biggest reason POA signings get complicated.
Common mistakes that get a POA rejected later
- Missing witness signatures — some POAs require witnesses in addition to notarization; the document itself should specify this, and it's worth checking before your appointment.
- Name mismatches — the principal's name on the POA has to match their photo ID exactly, including middle names or suffixes. Banks are unforgiving about this.
- Signing before the appointment — if the certificate language requires an oath (rare for POAs, but it happens with certain affidavits attached to them), pre-signing invalidates the notarization.
- Using an expired or non-matching ID — bring a current, government-issued photo ID with a name that matches the document.
For a broader list, see our article on why notarizations get kicked back — most of it applies here too.
Have a power of attorney ready to sign?
We'll notarize it at our office or wherever the principal is most comfortable — including a hospital room or care facility, if that's where they are.
If the principal can't travel
This comes up often enough that it deserves its own note: if the person granting the POA is in a hospital, a care facility, or simply can't leave the house, that's exactly the kind of appointment our mobile notary service exists for. We'll come to them. What we can't do is notarize a signature for someone who isn't physically present — that part of the process has no workaround, mobile or otherwise, so plan the appointment around wherever the principal actually is.
"Springing" vs. immediately effective POAs
One distinction that comes up often enough to explain: some powers of attorney take effect the moment they're signed, and the agent can act on the principal's behalf right away. Others are "springing" — they only take effect once a specific condition is met, most commonly a doctor certifying that the principal has become incapacitated. Which type you're signing is a drafting decision, made before the document ever reaches a notary, but it's worth knowing which one you have, because it affects how and when your agent will actually be able to use it. If your document doesn't say plainly which type it is, that's a question for whoever drafted it, not something a notary can determine by reading between the lines.
Revoking or replacing an old POA
If you're signing a new power of attorney to replace an old one, mention that during your appointment. Some people assume a new POA automatically cancels an old one; in practice, it's cleaner to formally revoke the prior document in writing and let any institutions relying on the old one know it's no longer valid. We can notarize a revocation the same way we'd notarize the new POA itself.
Common questions
Can one person hold both medical and financial power of attorney? Yes, the same person can be named as agent for both, or you can name different people for each — that's a choice made when the document is drafted.
What if the principal wants to name more than one agent? Documents can name co-agents, sometimes requiring both to act together and sometimes allowing either to act independently. Again, that's determined by the drafting, not the notarization.
Does the notary keep a copy of the POA? We keep a journal entry recording that the notarization occurred, not a full copy of the document itself, in keeping with standard recordkeeping practice.
A wrinkle worth knowing: bank-specific POA forms
Even after you've signed a properly drafted, notarized power of attorney, some banks and brokerage firms will ask your agent to also complete the institution's own internal POA form before they'll let the agent act on the account. This isn't a legal requirement — it's a policy some financial institutions adopt to limit their own liability, and it can catch families off guard when they assumed the notarized POA alone would be enough. If your agent will need to manage accounts at a specific bank, it's worth calling that bank ahead of time to ask whether they have their own paperwork requirements in addition to the POA itself. Better to find that out before an emergency than during one.