This post is about signing authority: who can sign, what the paper has to say, and when the power runs out. If the bigger question is how the house fits into paying for care, our page on selling a house when health changes the plan covers that side. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can you sell your parent's house in Michigan with a power of attorney?
Yes, if it is a financial power of attorney that covers real estate and your parent is alive. The parent who signs it is the principal. The person it names to act is the agent.
Check which document you have. A health care power of attorney, also called a patient advocate designation, covers care decisions such as treatment and living arrangements. The Michigan courts treat it as separate from a financial power of attorney, and it does not let anyone sell a house.
The financial power of attorney also had to be signed while your parent understood it. Michigan Legal Help says a person needs to be at least 18 and have capacity, meaning they understand their own decisions.
One option gets missed. If your parent can still make decisions and wants to sign, they can sign the sale papers themselves.
What does the power of attorney need to say to sell real estate?
It needs to give the agent authority over real property, by name or through a grant covering all subjects. It also has to have been signed with the formalities Michigan required that day.
On Michigan's statutory form, your parent would have initialed the line for real property or the line covering all subjects. That authority lets the agent sell, convey, quitclaim or otherwise transfer an interest in land, and the document does not need the legal description (MCL 556.304).
Michigan's Uniform Power of Attorney Act took effect July 1, 2024. For a power signed on or after that date (MCL 556.205):
- Signature: your parent signs, or someone signs at their direction and in their conscious presence.
- Notary or witnesses: the signature is acknowledged before a notary, or made in front of two witnesses who also sign. The agent cannot be a witness, but one witness may be the notary.
- If neither happened: the document is not durable, so it stops working if your parent loses capacity.
Then check what kind of power it is:
- Durable: it keeps working after your parent can no longer decide. Under the 2024 act, a power is durable unless it says otherwise (MCL 556.204).
- Springing: it starts on a future date or event, often incapacity. If the document names no one to decide, a physician or licensed psychologist can make that finding in writing (MCL 556.209). Keep it with the power of attorney.
- Signed before July 1, 2024: still valid if it met the law in place when signed (MCL 556.206).
Before acting under a durable power, the agent is supposed to sign an acknowledgment of the agent's duties (MCL 556.213). Sign it before the sale starts.
Does the title company need the original, and does it have to be recorded?
Plan on bringing the signed original. Michigan law lets a power to convey land be recorded with the register of deeds where the house sits, and a photocopy will not record.
Under MCL 565.36, a power to convey land can be recorded once it is acknowledged or proved. Under MCL 565.37, a recorded power is not treated as revoked until the revocation is recorded in the same office. The Wayne County Register of Deeds, citing state recording law, rejects copies because all signatures must be original.
Whether the power of attorney gets recorded with the deed is up to the title company, and practice varies. Ask the closer early what they need.
The deed needs a notary too. Wayne County requires a notary's acknowledgment on Michigan documents that convey real estate, with names and titles printed under each signature. Oakland and Macomb publish their own recording rules.
The 2024 act limits how long anyone can sit on a notarized power. Within 7 business days, the person asked to accept it must accept it or ask for one of these (MCL 556.220):
- The agent's acknowledgment of their duties.
- A certification from the agent, under penalty of perjury, on facts such as whether the power is still in effect.
- A translation or a lawyer's opinion: a translation if the power is not in English, or an opinion on what it allows.
After they get it, they have 5 business days to accept. They cannot demand that your parent sign their own form instead. A power signed only before witnesses does not get the same presumption that the signature is genuine (MCL 556.205).
What happens if your parent dies before the sale closes?
The power of attorney ends when your parent dies, and the agent can no longer sign. The sale then belongs to the estate or, if the house was in a living trust, to the trust.
Michigan's act lists the principal's death as an event that ends the power (MCL 556.210). It protects people who act in good faith without knowing of a death, but that is a safety net, not a plan.
If the house is in your parent's name alone, it goes through the estate, and a personal representative handles it. Michigan Legal Help notes that the personal representative has no authority until they sign and file an acceptance of appointment. Our posts on whether a house can be sold during probate and the probate process for a Detroit house walk through that route.
A trust set up during your parent's life is usually not part of the probate estate, and jointly owned property generally stays out too. The deed shows which applies.
This is the main limit of a power of attorney. If your parent's health is uncertain, it is worth knowing before you choose a closing date.
When do you need a guardian or conservator instead of a POA?
You need one when your parent can no longer make decisions and there is no usable power of attorney. A probate judge then appoints someone, and selling the house needs the court's approval.
The Michigan courts describe the roles this way. A guardian makes the personal decisions the judge allows, such as where your parent lives. A conservator manages finances and assets.
A conservator cannot sell a protected person's home or other real estate without court approval (MCL 700.5423). The court approves only after a hearing with notice to interested persons, evidence of the property's value, and a finding that the sale is in your parent's best interest.
The court's petition form, PC 646, is filed by the conservator or guardian. It asks for:
- The buyer, the price and the terms of the sale.
- An appraisal by a licensed professional from the past 6 months.
- The state equalized value and any mortgage, taxes or other liens.
- The reasons the sale is in your parent's best interest.
The order form, PC 647, covers the case where the house is your parent's principal dwelling and the price is below the appraised value. The court then explains on the record why the sale is still in your parent's best interest.
In plain terms, the judge compares any offer with the appraisal, and a cash offer below it needs a reason the judge accepts. Talk to a Michigan probate attorney before filing. Where a conservator has court approval to sell, we can work to the court's schedule.
How does a cash sale handle signing when the owner is in assisted living?
Either your parent signs where they live now, or the agent signs in their place. We have gone to an assisted-living facility for signatures before.
Michael's sale shows the first route. He was in assisted living, did not use email or text, and signed for himself. The team met him at the facility, the contract came together within two days, and he was paid his $125,000 asking price.
When your parent cannot sign, the agent does, after the title company reviews the power of attorney. We can buy from an agent acting under a valid power of attorney once the title company accepts the document.
The rest works the same for any seller:
- Offer: a no-obligation cash offer, usually within 24 hours.
- Timing: closing in as little as 7 days when the title is clear, or on the date you choose.
- Condition: as-is, no repairs, cleaning or showings. Pack what your parent wants and leave the rest.
- Costs: we cover the typical closing costs, and there is no agent commission.
- Debts: a mortgage or liens are paid from the sale at closing.
Here is the honest part. Our price is fair, but not always full market value, and for a house that needs work it reflects the repair cost. As the agent, you have a legal duty to act in your parent's best interest (MCL 556.214). If the house is in good shape and there is time to list it, a listing may net your parent more. Our FAQ encourages a second offer.
Frequently asked questions
Can a POA sell a house without the owner's consent?
The agent does not need your parent to sign off on each step. But the agent must follow your parent's reasonable expectations that the agent knows about, and otherwise act in their best interest (MCL 556.214). A parent who still has capacity can cancel the power of attorney, and a title company told it was canceled can refuse it.
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Michigan?
Not always. A power signed on or after July 1, 2024 must be notarized or signed before two witnesses to be durable (MCL 556.205). For a house sale, a notary is the safer choice. A power must be acknowledged or proved before it can be recorded (MCL 565.36), and the act's acceptance deadlines apply to notarized powers.
Can the agent under a POA sell the house to themselves?
Sometimes, but it puts you on both sides of the deal. Unless the document says otherwise, the agent must act loyally for your parent and avoid conflicts of interest that impair impartial judgment (MCL 556.214). Heirs can ask the probate court to review the agent's conduct (MCL 556.216). Have a Michigan attorney review the power first, and get an independent appraisal.
Do I need a lawyer to sell a house with power of attorney?
It depends on the document. A recent, notarized power that clearly covers real property may need only the title company's review. Hire a Michigan attorney if the power is old, springing or witnessed only, if your parent's capacity is in doubt, if a sibling objects, or if you want to buy the house yourself.
Can a POA sign the seller's disclosure statement?
Yes, if the power covers real property. Michigan's Seller Disclosure Act exempts a fiduciary who does not live in the house and is handling an estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust (MCL 565.953). An agent under a power of attorney is not on that list, so plan on completing it. Answer from the best information you and your parent have, and say where something is unknown (MCL 565.956).
What if siblings disagree with the sale?
The agent answers to your parent, not to the siblings. Still, a sibling who would inherit if your parent died without a will can ask the probate court to review the agent's conduct (MCL 556.216). If your parent can still decide, their wishes control. Share the offer and your reasons in writing, and call a Michigan attorney if a sibling talks about court.
When you are ready to talk
You can ask us for a no-obligation cash offer to compare with your other options. Our page on selling a house for health reasons has more on that situation. You can send us a message or call (313) 217-9851.
Sources
- Michigan Legislature: Uniform Power of Attorney Act, 2023 PA 187
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 556.205, execution
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 556.210, termination
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 556.220, acceptance
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 556.304, real property
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 565.36, recording a power
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 565.37, revoking a recorded power
- Michigan Legislature: MCL 700.5423, conservator powers
- Michigan Legislature: Seller Disclosure Act, 1993 PA 92
- Michigan Legal Help: Fact Sheet on Financial Power of Attorney in Michigan
- Michigan Legal Help: Making a Power of Attorney for Legal and Financial Decisions
- Michigan Legal Help: An Overview of Informal Probate
- Michigan Courts: PC 666, Options Before a Full Adult Guardianship
- Michigan Courts: PC 646, Petition Regarding Real Estate/Dwelling
- Michigan Courts: PC 647, Order Regarding Real Estate/Dwelling
- Wayne County Register of Deeds: Document Recording
- ICLE: Michigan Adopts Uniform Power of Attorney Act
- Greenleaf Trust: Michigan's New Power of Attorney Act
