As we’ve covered a couple of times on the blog before, power of attorney is one of the most important concepts for a family to be familiar with once a loved one starts to age and think about senior living or other forms of managed or at-home care. Whether your parent requires a power of attorney for a limited scope or duration, such as when they are out of the country on travel or unavailable due to a planned absence like a surgical procedure, or if they needed power of attorney for more extended time or to assist with a larger or more central part of their life, such as when an adult child is managing and paying for a senior parent’s senior living or at home care, there are many different ways in which power of attorney can be used to assist your senior parent whether or not they are living in senior housing. 

But just as important as creating or modifying a power of attorney relationship, is how to revoke the grant of power of attorney should it no longer become necessary for your senior parent. Along with revoking the grant of power of attorney, it will be important to make sure that you adequately communicate to all potentially affected individuals in your senior parent’s life that power of attorney is no longer operative. While you should consult with a legal or elder care professional before revoking a power of attorney, the below guide helps outline the considerations and requirements at play when revoking a power of attorney.

Power of attorney overview

Before diving into how to end a power of attorney relationship for your senior parent, and what to do after, it’s important for a quick refresher on all the important terms and mechanics of power of attorney (for a more in-depth look at power of attorney check out our blog post here). At a high level, power of attorney involves one individual (the “principal”) granting another individual (their “agent” or “proxy”) the power to do something on their behalf. A grant of power of attorney can be limited in either time or scope (or both), such as when a senior appoints someone to sell their home on their behalf. On the other hand, a grant of power of attorney an be broad and all-encompassing, such as when a senior appoints another power of attorney to handle the majority of their important financial and living arrangements when they become unable to do so for themselves for one reason or another.

‍Why your senior parent might revoke power of attorney‍

There are many potential reasons why an individual may want to revoke their grant of power of attorney. As discussed, many power of attorney relationships are designed to end automatically such as when your senior parent appoints someone as power of attorney to handle their affairs following a surgery and some period of recovery afterwards. In such a situation, it will be pre-determined that the power of attorney relationship will only be for a short period of time, and to accomplish a set series of tasks.

Other times, your senior parent may choose to modify or end their power of attorney relationship before it has lasted its predetermined amount of time or fulfilled its original purpose. In these sorts of situations there has generally been some sort of change of circumstances that no longer makes the original grant of power of attorney appropriate. One type of situation where this is common is where the selected agent is no longer appropriate to look after the senior adult's care or living arrangements because they (or the senior adult) have moved away. So while an adult child may be the perfect person to have power of attorney for a senior living resident if they live in the same town together, another person may be a more appropriate choice of power of attorney if the adult child were to move to a town far away. 

How your senior parent can revoke power of attorney

Generally in order to revoke a power of attorney you must first write a notice informing your agent that they have been relieved of their duties as power of attorney, and then serving this written document on your agent. In most cases, this written notice of revocation will also need to be signed by a notary public. It is important to keep in mind that in most situations, creating a second power of attorney will not revoke the previous power of attorney unless it is written in the new power of attorney or in a separate document. So if you wish to revoke a grant of power of attorney make sure to explicitly do so in writing. In addition, once the letter of revocation has been properly written, signed, and distributed, it is often appropriate to destroy the document containing the original grant of power of attorney. 

Keep in mind that some grants of power of attorney are designed to automatically end of their own accord. For example, a grant of power of attorney in order to accomplish a specific task, such as when someone appoints a power of attorney sell their car for them, may be designed to end automatically as soon as the relevant action has been completed. In other cases, power of attorney will be designed to end after a particular amount of time, such as when as individual appoints a power of attorney to handle their affairs during a planned absence such as a surgery or a trip. Finally, power of attorney also ends when the principal (or agent) either dies or is incapacitated (unless it is a durable power of attorney). 

Regardless of how the grant of power of attorney is being revoked - whether it was volitional on behalf of the principal or ended in one of the automatic fashions above - it is important to make sure that you follow up with all individuals who are affected by or rely on the fact that you are the senior’s power of attorney.

What to do after your senior parent revokes power of attorney

Once you have formally revoked the grant of power of attorney, it is best practice to then make sure that all interested parties are kept informed of the fact that the old power of attorney is not in operation, and to be aware of any new power of attorney documents that may exist. As noted above, in order to revoke your power of attorney in most states you will need to deliver this written notice to the agent named in the power of attorney document. But it is important to make sure that all relevant individuals - such as your senior parent’s doctors or lawyers - know when a power of attorney has been revoked in order for them to be sure that they are working with the right individual.

In addition to telling all individuals affected by your senior parent’s revocation of power of attorney, make sure to also inform all relevant government officials about the change as well. Depending on the scope and content of the grant of power of attorney this may just include a trip to the country clerk’s office. But if the agent for your senior parent was handling a wider scope of duties on your senior parent’s behalf, it may be necessary to contact further agencies such as the IRS or local tax authorities.

To learn more about how Sunbound can help make senior living more affordable for you or your loved one, send us an email at info@sunboundhomes.com or request more information on Sunbound. Sunbound is the best way to pay for senior living and is on a mission to make senior living affordable for everyone.