A Financial Power of Attorney is a written document in which a person (Called a principal) appoints someone else (such as a family member or other trusted party) as their agent to act for the principal in certain situations.  

The purpose of the Power of Attorney is to give the principal’s designated agent broad powers to handle the principal’s financial affairs, which may include the power to pledge, sell, or dispose of any of the principal’s real or personal property, even without the principal’s consent or any advance notice to the principal.  

The witness must not be:

• Your doctor or healthcare provider
• A person you listed as an agent in the document
• A person who helped you write the document
• A close relative of you or your agent

No.  The document does not have to be notarized. But it is a good idea to have it notarized if possible.