Delaware law requires a notary and a qualifying witness — and the witness cannot be a relative or anyone who inherits under your will. Here is exactly what the statute asks for.
A power of attorney appoints someone — your agent — to act for you on your property and money. It is governed by Delaware’s Durable Personal Power of Attorney Act, 12 Del. C. ch. 49A.
Your agent can act whether or not you are able to act for yourself. That is the point of it, and it is also why the State sets out exactly how one has to be signed.
It does not cover health care
A financial power of attorney gives your agent no authority over medical decisions. Delaware handles that in a separate document, the advance health care directive, under different rules and with a different number of witnesses. If you want both, you need both. See the advance directive page.
This is the part people get wrong. Under 12 Del. C. § 49A-105(a) a personal power of attorney must be all five of these:
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| In writing | A verbal authorisation is not a power of attorney. |
| Signed by you | Or by another person writing your name in your presence and at your express direction, if you cannot sign yourself. |
| Dated | |
| Signed in the presence of a notarial officer | A notary is not optional in Delaware. The signature has to happen in front of one. |
| Signed in the presence of 1 adult witness | And that witness must be neither related to you by blood, marriage or adoption, nor entitled to any portion of your estate under your existing will or codicil. |
Miss any one of them and you may have a document that a bank, title company or court will not accept — usually discovered at the worst possible moment, when the person who signed it can no longer sign a new one.
Read the witness requirement again, because it rules out most of the people who would naturally be in the room:
In a kitchen or a hospital room, that often leaves nobody eligible. Tell us when you book and we will bring a qualifying independent witness with us — someone unrelated to you and with no interest in your estate. It is a small thing to arrange in advance and an expensive thing to discover afterwards.
A Delaware power of attorney is durable — meaning it survives your later incapacity — when it says so. Under § 49A-104 that is language along the lines of “This power of attorney shall not be affected by the subsequent incapacity of the principal.”
The statutory form also lets you choose the opposite: a springing power that takes effect only if and while you are incapacitated, as determined under § 49A-109(c). You sign one choice or the other, not both.
Which of those is right for you is a legal question, and not one a notary is permitted to answer. It is worth deciding before the appointment rather than at the table.
The statutory form lists subjects and you initial each one you want to grant. Anything you do not initial is not included — silence is a refusal, not a default.
| Subject | Delaware Code |
|---|---|
| Real property | § 49A-204 |
| Tangible personal property | § 49A-205 |
| Stocks and bonds | § 49A-206 |
| Commodities and options | § 49A-207 |
| Banks and other financial institutions | § 49A-208 |
| Operation of an entity or business | § 49A-209 |
| Insurance and annuities | § 49A-210 |
| Estates, trusts and other beneficial interests | § 49A-211 |
| Claims and litigation | § 49A-212 |
| Personal and family maintenance | § 49A-213 |
| Government benefits, civil or military service | § 49A-214 |
| Retirement plans | § 49A-215 |
| Taxes | § 49A-216 |
A separate section covers powers that can significantly change what you own or who inherits it — creating or revoking a trust, making gifts, changing survivorship or beneficiary designations. Those are granted only if specifically initialled, and they deserve legal advice first.
What we do. We bring the current Delaware statutory form so you do not have to print anything. We confirm identification, watch the signing, perform the notarial act, and bring a qualifying independent witness if you need one. We come to homes, offices, hospitals and care facilities anywhere in Delaware, including evenings.
What we cannot do. We are not attorneys. We cannot draft the document, tell you whom to appoint, advise which powers to grant, or explain what a clause means. The statutory form says the same thing in its own opening notice: if you have questions about the authority you are granting, seek legal advice before signing.
A notary must also decline where identification is missing, where a signer does not appear to understand what they are signing, or where someone appears to be under pressure. On a power of attorney that protection matters more than usual, because the whole document is about handing control to another person.
Use a Delaware-specific form, not a generic one. A general power of attorney template will usually get the notary and witness blocks right, but leave out two things Delaware asks for:
You do not have to print anything. We bring the current Delaware form to the appointment, and we will bring a qualifying independent witness if you need one.
A note on filling it in: you initial each subject you want your agent to have, and you sign one of the two effective-date choices — immediately, or only on incapacity. Leaving either blank is a decision too, and not usually the one people intend.
We are not attorneys, and we say so on every page. But telling you to “see a lawyer” and leaving it there is not much help, so there are two routes we can actually put in front of you.
And for USCIS paperwork we bring in a paralegal or an attorney to do the legal part, rather than turning you away. The notarial act stays ours; the legal work goes to someone qualified to do it. We will tell you which is which, and what each costs, before anything starts.
Disclosure: we are a LegalShield affiliate and receive a commission if you enrol through us. We will say so again at the time.
The notarial act itself is capped by Delaware statute at $5.00. Travel and any independent witness are quoted separately and itemised before we set out — you will never be surprised at the table.
Dover desk 302-505-1459
Millsboro office 302-316-3926
notary@delawaremobilesignings.com
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Related: download the forms · Delaware advance health care directive · estate planning document signings · fees and service terms
