Her Mother’s Power of Attorney Was Valid. The Bank Still Refused It, and State Law Gave It Only 7 Business Days to Explain Why.

8 min read · Last updated September 30, 2026

Under Virginia’s enacted version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a bank presented with a valid, notarized power of attorney must accept it or explain its refusal in writing within 7 business days, then accept it within 5 more business days once you provide what it asked for, one concrete example of the statutory clock a UPOAA-adopting state can put on a bank.

In this article

• The refusal and the clock now running
• What to check in the next 24 hours
• The law that puts a deadline on the bank
• The mistakes that cost people the most time
• What to do at 30, 60, and 90 days
• Frequently asked questions

You presented a signed, notarized power of attorney (POA) at your parent’s bank with a mortgage payment due in 6 days, and the teller or a manager said no. The money sitting in that account cannot move without the bank’s cooperation.

The refusal and the clock now running

Banks reject valid POAs for a short list of recurring reasons. According to a caregiving guide from AARP, the nonprofit membership organization for adults age 50 and older, the most common are that the document is old enough that the bank considers it “stale,” that it does not meet the state’s own requirements for language or signing, that the bank wants the account holder or agent to appear in person, or simply that the bank wants you to fill out its own proprietary POA form instead. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirms the legal baseline directly: “As long as the power of attorney (POA) follows the laws of your state, banks, credit unions, and other third parties should accept it,” with narrow exceptions if the bank genuinely believes the document is forged, has already been revoked, or if it suspects the agent is exploiting the account holder. A bank dispute is a separate problem from a parent refusing help after a capacity concern, and the two need different next steps.

What to check in the next 24 hours

First, confirm the document was actually notarized. Some states require it for basic validity, not just as a formality. New York’s law, for example, requires the signature acknowledged the same way as a real estate deed, plus two witnesses. An unnotarized POA there genuinely is not valid, so the fix is getting it notarized now, not arguing with the branch.

Second, ask the bank for its refusal in writing and ask to speak with a supervisor immediately. The CFPB’s own written guide for people acting under a POA is direct: “If someone will not accept your authority as agent, talk to a supervisor. If they still won’t accept it, talk to a lawyer. State law may require the business or person to accept the power of attorney.”

Third, find out whether your state has adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, since that determines everything in the next section, and confirm which state’s law actually governs if you are coordinating this across state lines.

The law that puts a deadline on the bank

Virginia’s enacted Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Code Section 64.2-1618, requires a person presented with a notarized POA to either accept it or request a certification, translation, or opinion of counsel within 7 business days, then accept it within 5 more business days once given what was asked for. It also bars requiring “an additional or different form of power of attorney” once a valid one is presented. Other adopting states run their own version of this basic mechanic, so confirm your parent’s own state’s exact deadlines.

This protection is not nationwide. Louisiana is the clearest outlier: as the only civil-law state, a power of attorney there is governed by the law of mandate, an ordinary contract concept, not the UPOAA at all. In a state that never adopted the UPOAA, the bank’s own internal policy, not a statutory clock, is what you are negotiating against.

Illinois recently sharpened its own version of this protection. Public Act 103-0994, signed in 2024, took effect January 1, 2025 and created a formal statutory list of reasonable and unreasonable grounds for a bank to refuse a POA for the first time, including an agent’s refusal to sign a Certification and Acceptance of Authority, and separately, a principal’s attorney refusing to certify the POA’s continued validity, as two enumerated reasonable grounds for refusal.

The mistakes that cost people the most time

The first mistake is assuming every state works like Virginia’s. If your parent banks in Louisiana, there is no statutory 7-day clock to cite, and the fastest real path is an attorney’s letter, not a citation to a law that does not apply there.

The second mistake is not checking notarization first. If your state is one of the ones that requires it for basic validity and the document was never notarized, no amount of escalation fixes that. Get it notarized, then re-present it.

The third mistake is trying to work around the bank by depositing your parent’s money into your own account “just until this is resolved.” The CFPB’s guide for agents warns against exactly this: never deposit the account holder’s money into your own account, since commingling funds creates its own separate legal exposure.

What to do at 30, 60, and 90 days

At day 1 to 3, get the refusal in writing, confirm notarization, and escalate to a bank supervisor or the bank’s legal or compliance department.

At day 3 to 7, if your state has adopted the UPOAA, send the bank a written demand citing the specific statutory deadline, for example Virginia’s 7-business-day rule, and ask for a response by that date. If your state has not adopted it, get an attorney’s letter moving instead of waiting on a statute that will not apply.

At day 7 to 14, if the bank still has not responded or accepted the POA, file a complaint with the CFPB and, separately, contact whoever is owed the bill directly. A mortgage servicer can often pause or reduce payments through hardship forbearance while the account access issue is sorted out, and some servicers require the request within a specific window after a qualifying hardship, so call as soon as you know there’s a problem rather than waiting.

At day 30 to 90, if the bank continues to refuse without a legally valid reason, an attorney can pursue a court order compelling acceptance, and in several states the bank can be made to cover your attorney’s fees and court costs for forcing the issue.

If your parent has since passed away, a separate set of deadlines applies: Social Security has to be told directly, and the payment covering the month of death typically has to be returned.

Frequently asked questions

Why would a bank refuse a power of attorney that a notary already signed off on? The most common reasons are that the bank considers the document too old, wants its own proprietary POA form used instead, wants the agent or account holder to appear in person, or wants extra documentation. In some states, a genuinely unnotarized document is also just not legally valid, so always confirm notarization first.

How fast does a bank have to respond once it refuses a power of attorney? It depends on the state. Virginia’s enacted version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act gives a bank 7 business days to accept the document or request specific additional information, then 5 more business days once it gets what it asked for. Other adopting states set their own similar deadlines, while states that never adopted this law have no fixed statutory clock at all.

What if my parent’s bill is due before the bank responds? Contact whoever is owed directly and explain the situation. A mortgage servicer, for example, can often offer hardship forbearance to pause or reduce a payment while an account access issue is resolved, and some servicers require the request within a specific window after a qualifying hardship, so contact them as soon as you know there’s a problem.

Can I just deposit my parent’s money into my own account to pay the bill while this gets sorted out? No. Federal consumer guidance is explicit that an agent under a power of attorney should never commingle the account holder’s money with their own, even temporarily, since it can create separate legal exposure unrelated to the original bank dispute.

What can I do if the bank simply keeps refusing with no real explanation? File a complaint with the CFPB, selecting “authorized representative” for your relationship to the account holder, and have an attorney send a written demand citing your state’s specific power of attorney statute. In several states, a court can ultimately order the bank to accept the document and cover your legal costs for forcing the issue.