Most people sign a durable power of attorney with incapacity in mind. They want someone they trust to manage their affairs if they no longer can. Few stop to think that the same document, once signed and recorded, can also decide how and where a plaintiff serves them with a lawsuit. In Texas, a statutory durable power of attorney that includes authority over claims and litigation does exactly that.
That raises a question people rarely ask: once a principal hands an agent that authority, can the agent just refuse to take the papers at the door? The answer matters for anyone administering an estate, suing a defendant who is hard to find, or advising a client on what a power of attorney signed years ago still commits them to.
The Texas Court of Appeals answered that question in Obaro v. North Woodland Hills Village Community Association, No. 01-24-00525-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Feb. 19, 2026). The case shows how Texas courts read agent authority under the Durable Power of Attorney Act, and what a recorded power of attorney actually binds a principal and his agent to do.
Facts and Procedural History
A homeowner’s association sued Duke Obaro for $3,286.80 in unpaid assessments. It asked for a money judgment, a lien on his property, foreclosure of that lien, attorney’s fees, and costs. Personal service on Obaro proved hard to accomplish. So the association turned to a statutory durable power of attorney that Obaro had signed and recorded with the Harris County Clerk back in 2011.
That instrument named Deola Ali as Obaro’s agent and attorney-in-fact. It granted Ali all thirteen categories of authority the statute allows, including authority over claims and litigation, and Obaro had written “None” in the space for limiting instructions. The association amended its petition to say service could be made through the agent under the recorded instrument, and it attached a certified copy of the power of attorney. A process server then hand-delivered the citation and petition to Ali at her address.
Ali refused. According to a declaration she filed later, she told the process server that what he was doing was improper, rejected the documents, and told him to serve Obaro personally instead. The process server left the papers in her car and walked away. Obaro never filed an answer, and the trial court signed a final default judgment for the association. Before the court’s plenary power expired, Obaro moved to vacate the judgment, attaching Ali’s declaration. The trial court denied the motion, finding no evidence that service was deficient. Obaro appealed.
What the Durable Power of Attorney Act Says About Claims and Litigation
To see why Obaro lost, start with the statute. The Texas Estates Code governs statutory durable powers of attorney through the Durable Power of Attorney Act. See Tex. Est. Code §§ 751.001, 751.0015, 752.001. The Act lets a principal grant an agent authority over a defined set of categories, including property transactions, tax matters, personal and family maintenance, and claims and litigation. See Tex. Est. Code § 752.051. When the principal grants every category without restriction, the instrument is read as a general power of attorney, which means the agent can do anything the principal could do if personally present. See Tex. Est. Code § 751.031(a).
Section 752.110 spells out what a grant of general authority over claims and litigation actually covers. Subsection (5) says that authority empowers the agent to “accept service of process” for the principal. See Tex. Est. Code § 752.110(5). That subsection is the heart of the dispute. Obaro did not deny that his instrument gave Ali this authority. His argument was that the statute is permissive, not mandatory, so the agent could choose to accept service but was free to refuse it.
Can an Agent Refuse a Power the Principal Already Granted?
The court said no, and its reasoning was direct. Section 752.110 governs the principal’s conduct. It addresses whether, and how far, a principal may give an agent authority to accept service of process. It says nothing about what the agent must do once that authority is granted. So even if you accept Obaro’s premise that the language is permissive rather than mandatory, that only describes the principal’s choice to grant the power. It does not give the agent discretion to ignore a power already conferred. Nothing in section 752.110 lets an agent refuse to use a power the principal handed him.
The court then looked at the instrument itself, applying the two rules of construction from Gouldy v. Metcalf, 12 S.W. 830, 831 (Tex. [Comm’n Op.] 1889): general words are limited by their context, and authority is strictly construed to exclude any power not warranted by the actual terms or needed to carry out the authority. Obaro argued that strict construction left room for Ali to refuse. The court disagreed. The instrument called itself “a general power of attorney” letting the agent perform any action Obaro could perform if present, it covered claims and litigation without restriction, and it carried no limiting instructions because Obaro had written in “None.” A document like that cannot be read to let the agent pick and choose which granted powers to use.
Why the Default Judgment and the Refusal at the Door Did Not Save Obaro
A Texas court cannot enter a binding judgment without personal jurisdiction, and that requires proper service of process. See In re Guardianship of Fairley, 650 S.W.3d 372, 380 (Tex. 2022). Default judgments get especially close scrutiny. They cannot survive a direct attack by a defendant who shows that service did not strictly comply with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and no presumptions favor valid service when a judgment is attacked directly. See Wilson v. Dunn, 800 S.W.2d 833, 836 (Tex. 1990).
The association did everything that strict standard requires. It pulled a certified copy of the recorded power of attorney, amended its petition to allege service through the agent under that instrument, attached the instrument to the petition, and had the process server hand the citation and petition to Ali in person. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 106(a)(1) allows service by personal delivery to the defendant. Delivering the papers to the agent the recorded instrument authorized to stand in for Obaro on litigation matters met that rule. The record showed strict compliance with Rule 106 and the power of attorney, so the default judgment was proper.
Obaro’s motion to vacate rested on Ali’s unsworn declaration, a form of evidence Texas allows under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 132.001. The court accepted that the declaration was admissible. It still did not help. Ali’s verbal refusal could not undo service that was already legally complete. Because she had no authority to refuse a power Obaro had granted without limits, her objection at the door carried no legal weight. The delivery finished the service. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion, and the court of appeals affirmed.
The Takeaway
Obaro is a reminder that a Texas durable power of attorney is not a document that sits quietly in a drawer. Once it is signed and recorded, it is a live legal instrument that binds both the principal and the agent. Grant unrestricted general authority that includes claims and litigation, and you have authorized your agent to accept service of process for you. A verbal refusal at the door will not unwind that, and neither will an after-the-fact declaration. The practical lesson is to draft these instruments with care and read the scope of authority closely before signing. The words in the document, and the spaces left blank, will decide the outcome when it counts. If you are not sure what your power of attorney actually allows an agent to do, have a probate attorney review it before a problem forces the question.
Do you need help with a probate matter in San Antonio or the surrounding area? We are San Antonio probate attorneys. We help clients work through the probate process. Call today for a free confidential consultation, (210) 436-6601.
Our San Antonio Probate Attorneys provide a full range of probate services to our clients, including helping with durable power of attorney authority and service of process disputes. Affordable rates, fixed fees, and payment plans are available. We provide step-by-step instructions, guidance, checklists, and more for completing the probate process. We have years of combined experience we can use to support and guide you with probate and estate matters. Call us today for a FREE attorney consultation.
Disclaimer
The content of this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The information presented may not apply to your situation and should not be acted upon without consulting a qualified probate attorney. We encourage you to seek the advice of a competent attorney with any legal questions you may have.
