Signing Requirements
The principal and agent must have their signatures acknowledged by an authorized notary public. In addition, the principal’s signature must be witnessed by two persons who are not named in the instrument as agents or permissible gift recipients — one of whom may be the notary public acknowledging the document.[1]
Definition of “Power of Attorney”
“Power of attorney” means a written document, other than a document referred to in section Gen. Oblig. Law § 1501C of this title, by which a principal with capacity designates an agent to act on his or her behalf and includes both a statutory short form power of attorney and a non-statutory power of attorney.[4]
Statutory Form
The New York State legislature has created a sample statutory form for durable power of attorney available at Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-1513.