Power of attorney in Connecticut: form, signing and powers

The form, the signing rules, durable or not, and what an agent can do in Connecticut, from Connecticut law.

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Short answer

Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act

Official form: Durable Statutory Power of Attorney - Short Form and Long Form
How to sign: Signed in front of two witnesses (no notary)
Durable unless it says otherwise?: Yes: it continues if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise.
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes

Words used in Connecticut

In Connecticut you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and a health care representative for medical decisions. Your treatment wishes go in a living will, and both can be in one document. If an adult cannot manage and has no documents, the Probate Court can appoint a conservator.

An agent (also called an attorney-in-fact) is the person you choose to act for you. You are the principal.

Money and property: Power of attorney; durable statutory power of attorney - short form and long form
The person you choose: Agent
Health care: Appointment of health care representative
Treatment wishes: Living will
Court-appointed decision-maker: Conservator of the person and conservator of the estate (voluntary or involuntary representation, temporary conservator); guardianship under sections 45a-669 to 45a-684 is used for adults with intellectual disability

Law and official form

Law: Connecticut Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Uniform Power of Attorney Act: Yes (effective October 1, 2016)
Official form: Durable Statutory Power of Attorney - Short Form and Long Form (Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-352)Published by Connecticut General Assembly
You do not have to use it.
You do not have to use these forms; any other form may be used. The statutory short and long forms say they must be acknowledged by you in the manner for acknowledging a conveyance of real property (before a notary or commissioner of the Superior Court), and they have lines for two witnesses. Neither form covers health care decisions.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350 to 1-353b (P.A. 15-240; P.A. 16-40); Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-352

Signing rules

How to sign

A power of attorney must be dated, signed by you (or for you in your presence at your direction) and witnessed by two witnesses. A notary is not required by the Act, but a signature acknowledged before a notary or commissioner of the Superior Court is presumed genuine, and the statutory short and long forms call for acknowledgment.

Who signs

Dated and signed by you, or by another person who signs your name in your conscious physical presence at your direction.

Notary

Not required

Witnesses

Agent's acknowledgment

No separate acceptance form is required. An agent accepts by acting under the power of attorney or by other conduct showing acceptance.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350l

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350d, 1-352

Durable and springing

Is it durable?

A power of attorney is durable unless it expressly says it ends when you become incapacitated.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350c

Durable unless it says otherwise?

Yes: it continues if you lose capacity unless it says otherwise.

Starting later (springing)

It can start on a future date or event. If it starts on your incapacity and you named no one to decide, it starts when two independent physicians determine in writing that you are incapacitated (or a judge, if you are missing, detained or outside the U.S.). The statute includes an optional affidavit form for a person you authorize to confirm the event.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350h

What an agent can and cannot do

Needs express permission: Create, amend, revoke or terminate an inter vivos trust
Make a gift
Create or change rights of survivorship
Create or change a beneficiary designation
Waive your right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, including a survivor benefit under a retirement plan
Exercise fiduciary powers that you have authority to delegate
Disclaim property, including a power of appointment
Exercise powers over your digital devices, digital assets, user accounts and electronically stored information
Act with respect to your intellectual property
Unless the document says otherwise, an agent may not use these powers to create an interest in your property for the agent or the agent's dependent

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-351(a), (b)

Agent duties, pay and court review

Agent duties

Act in line with your reasonable expectations, make reasonable efforts to learn them, and otherwise act in your best interest
Act in good faith
Act only within the authority the document gives
Act loyally for your benefit and avoid conflicts of interest
Act with care, competence and diligence
Keep a record of all receipts, payments and transactions
Cooperate with your health care decision-maker
Try to preserve your estate plan if the agent knows it and it is in your best interest

Agent pay

Unless the power of attorney says otherwise, the agent is entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses and to compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350k

Asking a court to review an agent

You, your agent, a guardian or conservator, your health care decision-maker, your spouse, parent or descendant, a presumptive heir, a beneficiary, a representative of the Department of Social Services' Protective Services for the Elderly, your caregiver or another interested person, or a person asked to accept the power of attorney can petition the Probate Court to construe it, review the agent's conduct or compel an accounting.

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350o, 45a-175(d)

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350m

When it ends and how to revoke it

How to revoke a power of attorney in Connecticut

Official forms in Connecticut

Forms published by the state or its courts. You open them on the official site.

Financial power of attorney

Durable Statutory Power of Attorney - Short Form and Long Form (Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-352) · Published by Connecticut General Assembly

Health care directive

Health care instructions, appointment of health care representative, designation of conservator and anatomical gift - combined form (Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-575a) · Published by Connecticut Office of the Attorney General · Version: Attorney General combined form, file dated 2006 ('advdirectivescombinedform2006alt'); the statutory form text was later amended (pregnancy instructions 2018, APRN references 2018, technical change 2019)

Guardianship / conservatorship

Good to know in Connecticut

Connecticut requires two witnesses for every power of attorney signed in the state since October 1, 2016; a notary is not required by the Act but is called for on the statutory short and long forms.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-350d, 1-352
An appointment of a health care representative can be revoked only in a writing signed by you and two witnesses, while a living will can be revoked in any manner.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-575a(b), 19a-579a
A Probate Court may not appoint a conservator if your needs are already being met by your agent under a power of attorney or your health care representative.
Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 45a-650(f)(3)
Connecticut has no supported decision-making statute; a 2026 Special Act created a study group.
Law: Special Act 26-12

Changes in 2024–2026

P.A. 24-68 (effective May 28, 2024) removed the witness-signature requirement from the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) program. P.A. 24-97 amended notice rules in conservatorship proceedings (section 45a-649). P.A. 23-161 (effective July 1, 2024) amended a conservatorship section in chapter 802h. Special Act 26-12 (signed June 2, 2026) created a working group to study supported decision-making. No 2024-2026 amendments were found in the Uniform Power of Attorney Act sections (1-350 to 1-353b).

Law: Conn. Gen. Stat. 19a-580h

Free help in Connecticut

Report abuse or exploitation

Connecticut Department of Social Services - Protective Services for the Elderly · 1-888-385-4225

Questions about powers of attorney in Connecticut

What is a power of attorney called in Connecticut?

Power of attorney; durable statutory power of attorney - short form and long form. In Connecticut you name an agent for money and property in a power of attorney, and a health care representative for medical decisions. Your treatment wishes go in a living will, and both can be in one document. If an adult cannot manage and has no documents, the Probate Court can appoint a conservator.

Does a power of attorney have to be notarized in Connecticut?

Is there an official power of attorney form in Connecticut?

Durable Statutory Power of Attorney - Short Form and Long Form. You do not have to use it.