What happens to existing powers of attorney when a new one is filed?

When a new power of attorney is filed, it generally revokes all prior powers of attorney. MPEP 402.05(a) provides several scenarios:

• If a new power of attorney is filed without explicitly revoking prior ones, it will be treated as a revocation of the original power of attorney.
• If an assignee files a new power of attorney, it revokes and replaces the original power of attorney filed by the applicant.
• If a power of attorney is given to practitioners associated with a Customer Number, and a second power of attorney is later received for a different Customer Number, the second one will replace the first.

The MPEP states:

In all of these situations, the most recently filed power of attorney will control.

This means that the latest power of attorney filed will take precedence over any previously filed ones.

To learn more:

• power of attorney
• revocation
• new filing
• Customer Number