The use of a power of attorney at closing can be very helpful if you have a customer that might travel a lot or that is planning to be out of town on the day of closing. The issue I often encounter is that someone wants to use a power of attorney that was either prepared online, with an out of state attorney or years prior for an unrelated purpose. When we are faced with these types of POA’s we often times need to redraft the POA and obtain a new signature.

In addition to the requirements that the title company sets forth regarding a POA, if there is a lender involved, especially when the POA will be used to sign lender related documents, then there will be a separate review needed of the POA and approval by the lender. Typically POA’s are most accepted when they are limited and specific to the transaction in question. A general POA requires a higher level of scrutiny before it will be accepted by a title company or lender. Additionally, if a Seller is using the POA to allow someone else to sign the transfer documents, particularly the deed, then the title company will often times send the deed for signature along with the POA. The idea here being that if the Seller needs to appear before a notary with witnesses to sign the POA they might as well sign the deed at that time as well. The POA must be signed by the principal in front of two unrelated witnesses and a notary. The witnesses must print their names under their signature and the notary must affix their stamp or seal to the document as well as their signature. 

The most important things I advise my clients with regards to POA’s are:
1) Identify if a POA is to be used as early in the closing process as possible;
2) If there is an existing POA to be used, get it to the title company right away for review;
3) If a new POA is needed, keep in mind that the person that won’t be available to sign at closing will need to be available to sign the POA; and
4) Call the title company with any questions relating to a POA as they sometimes appear to be simple documents although contain more complexity then how they appear.