Simplify Power of Attorney Forms

Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 2 of section 5-1501 of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:

(j) "Power of attorney" means a written document, other than a document referred to in section 5-1501C of this title, by which a principal with capacity designates an agent to act on his or her behalf and includes both a statutory short form power of attorney and a non-statutory power of attorney.

§ 2. Paragraph (n) of subdivision 2 of section 5-1501 of the general obligations law is REPEALED, and paragraphs (o), (p) and (q) are relettered paragraphs (n), (o) and (p).

§ 3. Paragraph (n) of subdivision 2 of section 5-1501 of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010 and as relettered by section two of this act, is amended to read as follows:

(n) "Statutory short form power of attorney" means a power of attorney that meets the requirements of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision one of section 5-1501B of this title, and that [contains the exact] substantially conforms to the wording of the form set forth in section 5-1513 of this title; provided however, that any section indicated as "Optional" that is not used may be omitted and replaced by the words "Intentionally Omitted". [A mistake in wording, such as in spelling,

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD00875-02-0

A. 5630--A 2

punctuation or formatting, or the use of bold or italic type, shall not prevent a] A given power of attorney [from being deemed a statutory short form power of attorney, but the wording of the form] substantially conforms to the form required pursuant to section 5-1513 of this title notwithstanding that the form contains (i) an insignificant mistake in wording, spelling, punctuation or formatting, or the use of bold or italic type; or (ii) uses language that is essentially the same as, but is not identical to, the statutory form, including utilizing language from a previous statute. The determination of whether there is substantial conformity with the form set forth in section 5-1513 of this title [shall govern] shall not depend on the presence or absence of a particular clause. Failing to include clauses that are not relevant to a given power of attorney shall not in itself cause such power of attorney to be found to not substantially conform with the requirements of such form. The use of the form set forth in section 5-1513 of this title is lawful and when used, it shall be construed as a statutory short form power of attorney. A statutory short form power of attorney may be used to grant authority provided in sections 5-1502A through 5-1502N of this title. A "statutory short form power of attorney" may contain modifications or additions as provided in section 5-1503 of this title[, but in no event may it be modified to grant any authority provided in section 5-1514 of this title. If the authority (SGR) on the statutory short form is initialed by the principal, the statutory short form power of attorney must be executed in the manner provided in section 5-1501B of this title, simultaneously with the statutory gifts rider. A statutory short form power of attorney and a statutory gifts rider which supplements it must be read together as a single instrument].

§ 4. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 5-1501B of the general obligations law, as added by chapter 644 of the laws of 2008, the opening paragraph and paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 1, and the opening paragraph and paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:

1. To be valid, except as otherwise provided in section 5-1512 of this title, a statutory short form power of attorney, or a non-statutory power of attorney, executed in this state by a principal, must:

(a) Be typed or printed using letters which are legible or of clear type no less than twelve point in size, or, if in writing, a reasonable equivalent thereof.

(b) Be signed, initialed and dated by a principal with capacity, or in the name of such principal by another person, other than a person designated as the principal's agent or successor agent, in the principal's presence and at the principal's direction, in either case with the signature of the [principal] person signing duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property in the presence of the principal. When a person signs at the direction of a principal he or she shall sign by writing or printing the principal's name, and printing and signing his or her own name.

(c) Be signed and dated by any agent acting on behalf of the principal with the signature of the agent duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property. A power of attorney executed pursuant to this section is not invalid solely because there has been a lapse of time between the date of acknowledgment of the signature of the principal and the date or dates of acknowledgment of the signature or signatures of any agent or agents or successor agent or successor agents authorized to act on behalf of the

A. 5630--A 3

principal or because the principal became incapacitated during any such lapse of time.

(d) [Contain the exact] Substantially conform to the wording of the:

(1) "Caution to the Principal" in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 5-1513 of this title; and

(2) "Important Information for the Agent" in paragraph (n) of subdivision one of section 5-1513 of this title.

2. [In addition to the requirements of subdivision one of this section, to be valid for the purpose of authorizing the agent to make certain gift transactions described in section 5-1514 of this title:

(a) a statutory short form power of attorney must contain the authority (SGR) initialed by the principal and be accompanied by a valid statutory gifts rider; and

(b) a non-statutory power of attorney must be executed pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (b) of subdivision nine of section 5-1514 of this title.] Insubstantial variation in the wording of the "Caution to the Principal" of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 5-1513 of this title or of the "Important Information for the Agent" of paragraph (n) of subdivision one of section 5-1513 of this title shall not prevent a power of attorney from being deemed a statutory short form power of attorney or a non-statutory power of attorney.

§ 5. Subdivisions 2 and 9 of section 5-1502A of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:

2. To sell, to exchange, to convey either with or without covenants, to quit-claim, to release, to surrender, to mortgage, to incumber, to partition or to consent to the partitioning, to create, modify or revoke a trust [unless such creation, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title,] to grant options concerning, to lease or to sublet, or otherwise to dispose of, any estate or interest in land;

9. To execute, to acknowledge, to seal and to deliver any deed, creation, modification or revocation of a trust [unless such creation, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title], mortgage, lease, notice, check or other instrument which the agent may think useful for the accomplishment of any of the purposes enumerated in this section;

§ 6. Subdivisions 2 and 7 of section 5-1502B of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:

2. To sell, to exchange, to convey either with or without covenants, to release, to surrender, to mortgage, to incumber, to pledge, to hypothecate, to pawn, to create, modify or revoke a trust [unless such creation, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title] to grant options concerning, to lease or to sublet to others, or otherwise to dispose of any chattel or goods or any interest in any chattel or goods;

7. To execute, to acknowledge, to seal and to deliver any conveyance, mortgage, lease, creation, revocation or modification of a trust [unless such creation, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title], notice, check or other instrument which the agent may think useful for the accomplishment of any of the purposes enumerated in this section;

§ 7. Subdivisions 2 and 9 of section 5-1502C of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:

A. 5630--A 4

2. To sell (including short sales), to exchange, to transfer either with or without a guaranty, to release, to surrender, to hypothecate, to pledge, to create, modify or revoke a trust [unless such creation, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title,] to grant options concerning, to loan, to trade in, or otherwise to dispose of any bond, share, instrument of similar character, commodity interest or any instrument with respect thereto;

9. To execute, to acknowledge, to seal and to deliver any consent, agreement, authorization, creation, modification or revocation of a trust [unless such creation, declaration, modification or revocation is a gift transaction governed by section 5-1514 of this title], assignment, notice, waiver of notice, check, or other instrument which the agent may think useful for the accomplishment of any of the purposes enumerated in this section;

§ 8. Subdivision 1 of section 5-1502D of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 644 of the laws of 2008, paragraphs (a) and (b) as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:

1. To continue, to modify, to terminate and to make deposits to and withdrawals from any deposit account, including any joint account with the agent or totten trust for the benefit of the agent, or other banking arrangement made by or on behalf of the principal prior to the creation of the agency, provided, however, that:

(a) with respect to joint accounts existing at the creation of the agency, the authority granted hereby shall not include the power to change the title of the account by the addition of a new joint tenant or the deletion of an existing joint tenant, unless the authority to make such changes is [conveyed in a statutory gifts rider to] expressly stated otherwise in the "Modifications" section of a statutory short form power of attorney or in a non-statutory power of attorney signed and dated by the principal with the signature of the principal duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgement of a conveyance of real property, and which is executed pursuant to the requirements of [paragraph (b) of subdivision nine of] section [5-1514] 5-1501B of this title, and

(b) with respect to totten trust accounts existing at the creation of the agency, the authority granted hereby shall not include the power to add, delete, or otherwise change the designation of beneficiaries in effect for any such accounts, unless the authority to make such additions, deletions or changes is [conveyed in a statutory gifts rider to] expressly stated otherwise in the "Modifications" section of a statutory short form power of attorney or in a non-statutory power of attorney signed and dated by the principal with the signature of the principal duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property, and which is executed pursuant to the requirements of [paragraph (b) of subdivision nine of] section [5-1514] 5-1501B of this title.

§ 8-a. Section 5-1502D of the general obligations law is amended by adding a new subdivision 18 to read as follows:

18. If a power of attorney requires that two or more agents act together as co-agents, one or more agents may delegate to the co-agent the authority to conduct banking transactions if the principal initialed subject (o) in the grant of authority provisions of paragraph (f) of the statutory short form set forth in section 15-1513 of this title.

A. 5630--A 5

§ 9. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 5-1502F of the general obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows: