Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5605 (2026)

  Power of attorney not revoked until notice.

✓ current as of May 2026
Coverage note: this corpus holds the consolidated Pa.C.S. titles only. Unconsolidated P.S. statutes (UTPCPL 73 P.S. § 201-1, Liquor Code, wage payment laws) are not included; a miss here does not mean the statute does not exist. Check palegis.us.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section PA-LEGpalegis.us JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§ 5605.  Power of attorney not revoked until notice.

(a)  Death of principal.--The death of a principal who has executed a written power of attorney, durable or otherwise, shall not revoke or terminate the agency as to the agent or other person, who, without actual knowledge of the death of the principal, acts in good faith under the power. Any action so taken, unless otherwise invalid or unenforceable, shall bind successors in interest of the principal.

(b)  Disability or incapacity of principal.--The disability or incapacity of a principal who has previously executed a written power of attorney which is not a durable power shall not revoke or terminate the agency as to the agent or other person, who, without actual knowledge of the disability or incapacity of the principal, acts in good faith under the power. Any action so taken, unless otherwise invalid or unenforceable, shall bind the principal and his successors in interest.

(c)  Filing a complaint in divorce.--If a principal designates his spouse as his agent and thereafter either the principal or his spouse files an action in divorce, the designation of the spouse as agent shall be revoked as of the time the action was filed, unless it appears from the power of attorney that the designation was intended to survive such an event.

(Dec. 16, 1992, P.L.1163, No.152, eff. imd.; Oct. 12, 1999, P.L.422, No.39, eff. 60 days)

 

1999 Amendment.  See section 13(1) of Act 39 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to applicability.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2010–2015 · leading case: Vine v. Commonwealth, State Employees' Ret. Bd., 9 A.3d 1150 (Pa. 2010).
Vine v. Commonwealth, State Employees' Ret. Bd., 9 A.3d 1150 (Pa. 2010). · cites it 2× “Notably for present purposes, the General Assembly has adopted a comment drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which clarifies the UDPAA's scope as follows: *1160 In this and the following sections, it is assumed that the principal is…”
Jones, C. v. Jones, J. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015). · cites it 2× “See 20 Pa.C.S. § 5605(c). Further, Wife notes that, even if, as Husband alleges, she consented to his use of the Power of Attorney to sign her name, neither the Power of Attorney Act,2 nor the Domestic Relations Code,3 allow “for an oral consent to the violation of the Power of…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5605(b) — 1 case
Vine v. Commonwealth, State Employees' Ret. Bd., 9 A.3d 1150 (Pa. 2010). “Notably for present purposes, the General Assembly has adopted a comment drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which clarifies the UDPAA's scope as follows: *1160 In this and the following sections, it is assumed that the principal is…”
— 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5605(c) — 1 case
Jones, C. v. Jones, J. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015). “See 20 Pa.C.S. § 5605(c). Further, Wife notes that, even if, as Husband alleges, she consented to his use of the Power of Attorney to sign her name, neither the Power of Attorney Act,2 nor the Domestic Relations Code,3 allow “for an oral consent to the violation of the Power of…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.