Download Montana Durable Power of Attorney Form [PDF]

The Montana durable power of attorney (DPOA) is a legal document one party, called the principal, issues to authorize another party, called the agent or attorney-in-fact, to represent them before governmental, financial, legal, and other institutions and third parties.

The principal can use the durable power of attorney in any situation where they are incapacitated or otherwise unable to personally complete certain actions.

The reason can be the principal’s mental disability (like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease) or simply the fact that the principal lacks professional knowledge in a certain field, like law or accounting, and wants to hire another person to take care of these matters.

Durable Power of Attorney Laws & Requirements in Montana

Laws & Requirements

Relevant laws: Title 72, Chapter 31, Part 3 - Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Signing requirements: The principal or another person in the principal’s conscious presence must sign the Montana durable power of attorney before the notary public. (§ 72-31-305)
Statutory form: The Montana Statute, § 72-31-353, provides the statutory form for a power of attorney.
“Durable” as defined by the state law: According to § 72-31-302(2), “Durable,” with respect to a power of attorney, means not terminated by the principal’s incapacity.

How to Fill out a Durable Power of Attorney in Montana

#1. Designate an Agent

Here, you should enter the first and last names and mailing addresses of the principal and the agent.

When choosing an agent, you should look for a person who is of legal age and has the legal capacity to represent you. Secondly, it should be someone that you can trust. This is especially important if the agent will have the power to make decisions about your finances or health care.

Finally, the principal should be located near the place where a certain action needs to be taken.

In this section, you can also name the successor agent. The successor agent is the person who should act in case the primary agent loses legal capacity or is otherwise unable to represent you.

#2. Grant Authority

Once you have determined the agent, you must define their scope of authority.

There are three main ways to define the agent’s scope of authority in the durable power of attorney form:

Scope of Authority

General authority. In this way, you can authorize the agent to take all the necessary action and interact with all the third parties on your behalf. You can limit the general power of attorney by providing a list of activities the agent is not allowed to take on your behalf.
Partial authority. Here, you can select the activities you want your agent to be able to perform from the list of activities provided in the durable power of attorney form. To select the activities you want to include in the scope of authority, you simply need to sign your name next to the relevant activity.
Specific authority. This option gives you the most flexibility since you can describe the scope of authority in your own words. In this way, you can include the activities that are not provided in the durable power of attorney form.

#3. Ensure the Form is Durable

In Montana, the power of attorney is durable by default. Therefore, if you want your power of attorney to be non-durable, you must specify so in the document.

#4. Sign the Form

The principal or another person in the principal’s conscious presence must sign the durable power of attorney and get it notarized.

#5. Notarize the Form

In Montana, the durable power of attorney must be notarized. By notarizing the document, the notary public will confirm its authenticity and the authenticity of the principal’s signature.

#6. Store Your Durable Power of Attorney Form

After finalizing the durable power of attorney, you should keep the original copy in your possession. You should also make sure to store the document in a safe place, for example, a safe deposit box or some other safe place in your house.

How to Revoke a Durable Power of Attorney in Montana

The best way to revoke the Montana durable power of attorney is to issue a revocation letter. This letter should include information about the agent and the power of attorney you want to revoke.

To make the revocation effective, you should issue one copy of the revocation letter to the agent and to every third party the agent is interacting with on your behalf.