North Carolina has enacted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act which becomes effective January 1, 2018. The new Act does not revoke any existing powers of attorney executed prior to January 1, 2018.
The new Act under Chapter 32C provides 3 new forms including the statutory short form power of attorney, agent certification and limited power of attorney for real property. The new statutory short form power of attorney is durable unless the instrument expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. Some of the changes under the Act include the rules governing termination of a power of attorney are more comprehensive, the clarification of which state law controls how it is interpreted based on its text and the clarification regarding the execution of the validity of powers of attorney.
The new Act covers all powers of attorney including powers of attorney from other states and foreign countries with some exceptions as defined in the Act. Finally, the new Act guards against abuse on part of an agent by creating a two tier system when granting an agent authority distinguishing between acts that may be performed by an agent under a general grant of authority such as real property matters and acts that require specific grants of authority such as making gifts.
For more information about this new law and how it might affect you, along with other needs regarding Powers of Attorney, please contact our firm. We’d be happy to walk you through it in more detail.