How to Get Power of Attorney in Nebraska: Step-by-Step Process

Getting power of attorney in Nebraska isn't complicated, but the process has specific requirements that differ from most other states. Skip one step — particularly notarization — and the document is legally void. Here's the exact sequence.

Step 1: Determine Which Documents You Need

Nebraska uses two separate power of attorney forms:

• Form DC 6:12 (Financial Power of Attorney) for property, banking, taxes, and business decisions — governed by the Nebraska Uniform Power of Attorney Act
• Form DC 6:13 (Healthcare Power of Attorney) for medical treatment, surgery, and end-of-life decisions — governed by the Power of Attorney for Health Care Act

Most families need both. They have different signing requirements and grant different types of authority with no overlap.

Step 2: Choose Your Agents

For each document, name a primary agent and at least one successor agent. The same person can serve as both your financial and healthcare agent, but many families split the roles — choosing someone with financial competence for DC 6:12 and someone who understands their medical wishes for DC 6:13.

For healthcare agents, Nebraska law disqualifies the principal's attending physician, employees of the treating healthcare facility (limited to one witness, not agent), and anyone already serving as agent for ten or more non-relatives.

Step 3: Complete the Financial Power of Attorney (DC 6:12)

Work through each section carefully:

Agent designation. Write the full legal name and address of your primary agent and successor(s).

Powers. Initial each category of authority you want to grant: real property, tangible personal property, stocks and bonds, banking, business operations, insurance, estates/trusts, government benefits, retirement plans, and taxes.

Hot powers (§ 30-4024). These require individual, explicit authorization — broad general authority doesn't cover them. Separately initial any of these you want to grant: making gifts, creating or modifying trusts, changing beneficiary designations, altering survivorship rights, or delegating agent authority.

Special Instructions. This is where you customize the document. Common instructions include requiring quarterly financial accountings to a designated family member, capping gift amounts at the federal annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient), restricting real estate sales to specific properties, or making the POA "springing" so it only activates upon a physician's written determination of incapacity.

Step 4: Complete the Healthcare Power of Attorney (DC 6:13)

Name your healthcare agent and successor(s). Specify any treatment preferences, including decisions about life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition, and organ donation. You can also incorporate an advance mental health care directive under § 30-3408.

Step 5: Execute the Documents

Financial POA execution: Sign before a notary public. This is mandatory under § 30-4005 — no exceptions. Nebraska's maximum notary fee is $5. Banks, UPS stores, and some county clerk offices offer notary services. Witnesses are not required for a standard signature.

Healthcare POA execution: Sign before either a notary public OR two qualified witnesses. Witnesses must pass strict disqualification screening — no spouse, parents, children, grandchildren, siblings, heirs, attending physicians, or the named healthcare agent.

Step 6: Distribute and Store

Give a copy of the financial POA to your bank. Banks in Nebraska must accept an acknowledged power of attorney or request an agent's certification within seven business days under § 30-4020. Give a copy of the healthcare POA to your primary care physician. Store originals in a secure, accessible location — not a safe deposit box your agent can't access.

Step 7: Record If Needed

If your agent will handle real estate, record the financial POA with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Recording fees are $10 for the first page and $6 per additional page.

Common Mistakes That Invalidate the Document

The three most common failures: signing the financial POA with witnesses instead of a notary (void under § 30-4005), using a disqualified family member as a witness for the healthcare POA (invalid under § 30-3405), and failing to individually authorize hot powers like gifting (leaves the agent unable to execute Medicaid planning strategies).

The Nebraska Power of Attorney Kit includes completed examples, execution checklists, and an Agent Certification Form so nothing gets missed during the process.

See more Nebraska guides →