Minnesota · Minn. Stat. ch. 523Minnesota power of attorney at closing: the short form, the legal description and the agent's affidavit

A written power of attorney that's dated and purports to be signed by the principal is presumed valid, and anyone without actual knowledge otherwise may rely on that (Minn. Stat. §523.04). To be a statutory short form power of attorney, the wording of the form in §523.23 must be duplicated exactly, parts First, Second and Third completed, and the principal's signature acknowledged; the agent signs the form acknowledging the notice to attorneys-in-fact before acting (§523.23, subds. 1, 3). For real estate, using a street address instead of a legal description under the real property power (A) invalidates that power for all real property transactions, though the other powers survive (§523.23, subd. 3a). A power used to sign a recordable instrument is itself recordable (§523.05). In a real property transaction, the attorney-in-fact's affidavit that it has no knowledge or notice of revocation or termination – in the form in §523.17 – is conclusive proof that the power hasn't ended, for anyone relying on it without actual knowledge to the contrary (§523.17, subds. 1–2), and a party that accepts the agent's authority on those terms isn't liable to the principal or the estate (§523.19).