A power of attorney (POA) agent can pay themselves only when the document allows it or state law sets a default pay rate, and only for work actually done on the principal's behalf. Several states, including Virginia and Kansas, build in a "reasonable compensation" default even when the paperwork says nothing about pay, while others, including West Virginia and Iowa, block a family-member agent from taking any payment unless the document says so directly. Whether a specific payment is allowed depends on which state's law governs the document, what the document itself says, and whether the agent is a relative. Getting this wrong is not just an administrative slip — unauthorized self-payment is the single most common way a power of attorney turns into a prosecutable case of elder exploitation.
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Table of Contents
- What the Document Itself Says Comes First
- Family Agents Face a Stricter Default in Some States
- When a Court Has to Approve the Pay
- Gifts Are a Separate, Narrower Category
- The Duty Not to Put Yourself First
- When Self-Payment Becomes a Crime
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the Document Itself Says Comes First
A power of attorney document that spells out a pay rate, a flat fee, or a "no compensation" clause controls over anything state law would otherwise supply. Virginia's enacted Uniform Power of Attorney Act gives the agent a right to reimbursement for expenses and to "reasonable" compensation, but only "unless the power of attorney provides otherwise," according to Code of Virginia §64.2-1609. That means the printed form is the first place to check, not the state statute.
Kansas takes the same approach from the opposite direction: its statute entitles an attorney-in-fact to "reasonable compensation" for services performed, but that entitlement is explicitly "subject to any terms" set in the power of attorney or in a separate written agreement, according to Kansas Statutes §58-656(k). In both states, a document that is silent on pay does not mean no pay is allowed — it means the statutory default fills the gap. A family member reading through a loved one's POA paperwork should look specifically for a compensation clause before assuming either that payment is automatic or that it is forbidden. The clause, if one exists, is usually a short paragraph near the agent's powers or near the signature page.
Family Agents Face a Stricter Default in Some States
Several states flip the default entirely for agents who are relatives. West Virginia's version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act bars an agent who is an ancestor, spouse, or descendant of the principal from taking any compensation for serving as agent, unless the power of attorney specifically authorizes it, according to West Virginia Code §39B-1-112. An adult child or spouse acting as agent there gets nothing for the role itself unless the document says so in writing.
Iowa works the same way regardless of family relationship: an individual agent is entitled to reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred on the principal's behalf, but not to any compensation for serving as agent, unless the power of attorney expressly provides otherwise, according to Iowa Code §633B.112. Expense reimbursement — gas, postage, bank fees paid out of pocket — is a different category from payment for the agent's time, and Iowa separates the two cleanly. This split matters most for adult children managing a parent's finances through dementia, who often assume that family caregiving work is automatically compensable. In a no-compensation-by-default state, it is not, unless the original document or a later amendment adds that authority.
When a Court Has to Approve the Pay
Some situations require a judge's sign-off before an agent can collect anything, particularly once the principal has lost the capacity to object. In North Carolina, if the power of attorney is silent on compensation and the principal has since become incapacitated, the agent cannot set their own pay. The clerk of superior court must first find the principal incapacitated and then find the requested amount reasonable before awarding any compensation, according to the UNC School of Government's Civil Side blog.
This two-step court process exists because an incapacitated principal cannot review or object to what the agent is taking. Once dementia has progressed to the point where the person can no longer understand their own finances, self-policing by the agent is no longer a safeguard — a court's independent finding becomes the check in its place. Families in states with this kind of rule should expect a court filing, not just a bank transfer, if an agent wants to start taking pay after the principal's capacity has declined. An agent who skips that step and pays themselves anyway is acting outside the authority the law actually grants.
Gifts Are a Separate, Narrower Category
Compensation for serving as agent is not the same thing as a gift the agent gives themselves from the principal's funds, and the rules for gifts are tighter. New York's statutory short-form power of attorney permits an agent to make gifts to themselves only if the principal expressly granted that authority in the form's Modifications section; without that specific grant, self-gifting is not authorized at all, according to New York General Obligations Law §5-1513. Even where that authority is granted, New York caps it: the same statutory form limits total gifts for personal and family maintenance, including gifts to the agent, at $5,000 per calendar year, unless the principal separately expanded that authority in the Modifications section, according to the same statute.
An agent who moves money to themselves above that cap, or without the underlying grant of gifting authority, is exceeding the document regardless of what the compensation clause says. This distinction catches families off guard because a caregiving agent may genuinely believe that moving money to themselves for "help with expenses" counts as reimbursement. If it is not tied to an actual expense incurred on the principal's behalf, it is a gift, and gifts run through their own, separate authorization rules.
The Duty Not to Put Yourself First
Underneath all of these state-specific defaults sits a baseline fiduciary duty: the agent must act loyally for the principal's benefit and avoid conflicts of interest, including taking self-compensation beyond what the document or state default allows, unless the power of attorney itself modifies that duty, according to a summary of Virginia's Uniform Power of Attorney Act. This duty exists even in states that do not spell out a specific dollar cap or percentage for pay.
Practically, this means an agent should keep records tying every payment to themselves back to either a specific document clause, a specific reimbursed expense, or a court order. An agent who cannot point to one of those three things when asked has stepped outside the role, even if no single transaction looks large on its own.
When Self-Payment Becomes a Crime
Unauthorized self-payment is not just a civil dispute between family members — it is one of the most common fact patterns behind elder financial exploitation prosecutions. Michigan's Attorney General charged an insurance agent holding durable power of attorney with seven felonies after he allegedly paid himself from a client's accounts, stealing roughly $270,000 from a woman with Alzheimer's disease starting in 2012, according to the Michigan Attorney General's office.
Florida's Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit brought a similar case against Cheri Lynn Meyer, a power-of-attorney holder arrested on a second-degree felony charge of exploiting an elderly or disabled adult after she allegedly took more than $43,600 from a 79-year-old resident without authorization, according to the Florida Attorney General's office. Both cases involved an agent moving money to themselves without the documented authority to do so — exactly the gap between "allowed" and "not allowed" that the state-law defaults above are designed to close. A family member who suspects an agent is paying themselves without a clause, a court order, or a documented expense behind it has grounds to raise the same question these agencies did.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the power of attorney document says nothing about pay, can the agent still get paid?
It depends on the state. Virginia and Kansas supply a "reasonable compensation" default even when the document is silent, according to Code of Virginia §64.2-1609 and Kansas Statutes §58-656(k). Iowa and West Virginia do the opposite, denying compensation by default unless the document expressly grants it, per Iowa Code §633B.112 and West Virginia Code §39B-1-112.
Does reimbursing the agent for gas or supplies count as compensation?
No. Expense reimbursement for costs the agent actually paid out of pocket on the principal's behalf is treated separately from payment for the agent's time serving as agent, as Iowa's statute distinguishes explicitly.
Can an agent give themselves money as a "gift" instead of calling it pay?
Only if the document grants that authority specifically. New York's statutory form requires an express grant of self-gifting authority and caps total gifts at $5,000 a year absent an expanded grant, according to New York General Obligations Law §5-1513.
