Wills, and Estates, and New POAs Oh My
New Uniform Power of Attorney Act effective as of 10.1.16
Talking about death and dying is never fun. But, unfortunately, it is necessary. If you don’t have a Will, you should. If you have not reviewed your Will, you should (at least every five (5) years unless there is life changing circumstance...like you win the lotto!). Failure to do so could mean your long-lost cousin from Lithuania gets a windfall even though the two of you never met (yes – that happened in a case I handled!).
Today, however, I am going to let you in on one of the most interesting changes in the world of estate planning and directives. That is the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act. This new act has become effective as of 10.1.16 and impacts everyone with a proper basic estate plan.
Some tips are:
1. You must use the new forms after 10.1.16;2. Powers of Attorney (POA) executed prior to 10.1.16, if executed correctly, are still valid unless properly revoked at some point;
3. The new POAs have new features:
- The Attorney in Fact will now be referred to as an
Agent;
- Powers are durable unless they provide otherwise;
- Co-agents must act jointly unless they provide otherwise;
- Heath Care decisions are not governed by the new Act
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