Power of Attorney in Ohio

Ohio follows the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. A power of attorney must be signed by the principal (or by another person at the principal's direction and in the principal's conscious presence). A signature acknowledged before a notary is presumed genuine. A power of attorney is durable unless it expressly says it ends on the principal's incapacity. A statutory form power of attorney, with a notary acknowledgment, is provided in R.C. 1337.60.

Health care power of attorney: must be signed at the end by the principal, state its date, and be either witnessed by two adults or acknowledged before a notary. Relatives, the named agent, the attending physician, and the administrator of a nursing home caring for the principal cannot be witnesses. Living will (declaration): an adult of sound mind may sign one, signed at the end and dated, with two qualifying adult witnesses or a notary; it must use the terms 'terminal condition' and/or 'permanently unconscious state', and withholding nutrition and hydration in a permanently unconscious state requires a conspicuous statement initialed or signed by the declarant.

Ohio law sets out a "Statutory Form Power of Attorney" for property and financial matters (Ohio Rev. Code 1337.60). The form ends with a signature and acknowledgment section for the principal and a notary public. A signature on a power of attorney acknowledged before a notary public is presumed to be genuine (1337.25). A durable power of attorney for health care must be signed by the principal at the end of the document and dated, and either witnessed by at least two adults or acknowledged before a notary public. Relatives of the principal by blood, marriage or adoption, the named attorney in fact or alternate, the attending physician, and the administrator of a nursing home where the principal receives care cannot be witnesses (1337.12).