Changes to New York Power of Attorney Law Should Simplify Form and Streamline Acceptance by Financial Institutions
On February 1, 2021 by Schnader in TaxErica Howard-Potter and Paul E. Van Horn published a client alert, “Changes to New York Power of Attorney Law Should Simplify Form and Streamline Acceptance by Financial Institutions.”
Virtually everyone who has prepared or signed a New York Durable Power of Attorney statutory “short form” over the past ten or so years has the same reaction when first trying to navigate the form: “Huh?” While the law enacted in 2009 was an attempt by the legislature to address concerns regarding potential abuses of powers of attorney, particularly with respect to the elderly, the resulting “short form” and its companion, the statutory gifts rider, made for a confusing, cumbersome and inflexible document. For years, practitioners and bar associations proposed changes to the existing law and statutory form. In 2020, to the delight of many, the Assembly and Senate passed a new power of attorney law which was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on December 15, 2020.
The new power of attorney law addresses several issues that are problematic under the current law.