An Act Concerning Full Faith and Credit for Legal Documents Executed in Other Jurisdictions
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1566
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: RICHARDSON, HOBBINS, CANAVAN, CROSBY, PELLETIER-SIMPSON, HASTINGS
Amends: 18-A MRSA §5

Legislative Document 
No. 1566 
H.P. 1104 
House of Representatives, April 12,2005 
An Act Concerning Full Faith and Credit for Legal Documents 
Executed in Other Jurisdictions 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Speaker RICHARDSON of Brunswick. 
Cosponsored by Senator HOBBINS of York and 
!r/~ 
/J1.11bc~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CANAVAN of Waterville, CROSBY of Topsham, PELLETIER-SIMPSON 
of Auburn, Senator: HASTINGS of Oxford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 18-A MRSA §5-506, sub-§(b), as enacted by PL 1991, c. 
719, §3, is amended to read: 
(b) 
A durable health care power of attorney executed in 
.this State must be signed by the principal, or another at the 
principal's direction, and witnessed by 2 individuals other than 
the designated attorney-in-fact. 
This section's requirement of 2 
witnesses does not render ineffective a durable health care power 
of attorney validly executed prior to the effective date of this 
section. 
Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA §5-508, sub-§(c), as repealed and replaced by 
PL 1997, c. 683, Pt. C, §6, is amended to read: 
(c) 
A durable financial power of attorney iL~~I.l_t~1L-tJJiA 
~ 
must be notarized by a notary public or an attorney-at-law. 
Sec. 3. 18-A MRSA §5-508, sub-§(d), as amended by PL 2003, c. 
618, Pt. B, §8 and affected by §20, is further amended to read: 
(d) 
A durable financial power of attorney executed in this 
~ 
must contain the following language: 
"Notice to the Principal: 
As the "Principal," you are using this 
Durable 
Power 
of Attorney to grant power 
to another person 
(called the 
"Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact") 
to make 
decisions 
about your 
money, 
property or both 
and to 
use your 
money, 
property or both on your behalf. 
If this written Durable Power 
of Attorney does not limit the powers that you give your Agent, 
your 
Agent will have 
broad 
and 
sweeping powers 
to sell or 
otherwise dispose of your property and spend your money without 
advance notice to you or approval by you. 
Under this document, 
your Agent will continue to have these powers after you become 
incapacitated, and you may also choose to authorize your Agent to 
use these powers before you become incapacitated. 
The powers 
that you give your Agent are explained more fully in the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and in 
Maine case law. 
You have the right to revoke or take back this 
Durable Power of Attorney at any time as long as you are of sound 
mind. 
If there is anything about this Durable Power of Attorney 
that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it 
to you. 
Notice to the Agent: 
As the "Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact," you 
are given power under this Durable Power of Attorney to make 
decisions about the money, 
property or both belonging to the 
Principal and to spend the Principal's money, property or both on 
that person's behalf in accordance with the terms of this Durable 
Page l-LR1367 (1) 
Power of Attorney. 
This Durable Power of Attorney is valid only 
if the Principal is of sound mind when the Principal signs it. 
As the Agent, you are under a duty (called a "fiduciary duty") to 
observe the standards observed by a prudent person dealing with 
the property of another. 
The duty is explained more fully in the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title l8-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and 
Title l8-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9 and in Maine case 
law. 
As the Agent, you are not entitled to use the money or 
property for your own benefit or to make gifts to yourself or 
others unless the Durable Power of Attorney specifically gives 
you the authority to do so. 
As the Agent, your authority under 
this Durable Power of Attorney will end when the Principal dies 
and you will not have the authority to administer the estate 
unless you are authorized to do so in accordance with the Probate 
Code. 
If you violate your fiduciary duty under this Durable 
Power of Attorney, 
you may be liable for damages and may be 
subject to criminal prosecution. 
If there is anything about this 
Durable Power of Attorney or your duties under it that you do not 
understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you." 
This language does not confer powers not otherwise contained in 
the durable financial power of attorney. 
This subsection does not apply to a durable financial power of 
attorney 
granted 
by 
a 
person 
for 
the 
limited 
purpose 
of 
xepresentation of that person in a set of transactions involving 
the sale, purchase or mortgage of specifically identified real 
property. 
Sec.4. 18-A MRSA §§5-510 and 5-511 are enacted to read: 
§5-5l0. 
Recognition of powers of attorney from other 
jurisdictions 
NQ..twithstanding any contrary requirements of law, a durable 
or nondurable health· care power of attorney or a durable or 
~Qndurable financial power of attorney that was duly executed in 
another juriSdiction wit~in the United States in compliance with 
the laws of that jurisdiction is not ineffective in this State 
due to noncompliance with the laws of this State. 
§5-5ll. 
Reliance on pover of attorne~ 
A person who acts in good faith reliance on a cQPJ" of a 
~ocument purporting to establish an agency is fully protected and 
released to the same 
exten,~---.tJJough_th.e person relying on the 
document had dealt directly with the named principal as a fully 
competent person. 
A person dealing with an agent named in a copy 
of a document purporting to establish an agency may presume, in 
the 
absence 
of 
actual 
knowledge 
to 
the 
contrary, 
that 
the 
document purporting to establish the agency was validly executed, 
~h~he ag~ncy was~_.i_dly established, that the name.j;L.Qrinc!.p~l 
was competent at the time of execution and that. at the time of 
reliance, the named principal is alive, the agency was validly 
~stablished and has not terminated or been amended, the relevant 
J2.Qwers of the J~Qmed agent were properly and validly granted and 
pave not terminQted or been amen~nd the acts of the nQmed 
agent conform to the standQrds of this Part. 
No person relying 
on a copy of a document purporting to estQblish Qn Qgency is 
required to see to the QPplication of any property delivered to 
or controlled by the named agent or to question the Quthority of 
the named agent. 
Sec.5. 18-A MRSA §5-802, sub-§(k) is enacted to read: 
(k) 
NotwithstQnc;;ting any contrary requirements of lQw, 
an 
~_dvance health-cQre directive~ower of Qttorney for health cQr~ 
living will or other document expressing instructions for heQlth 
~e, document QuthQrizing donQtion of orgQns Qt death or other 
~dvance medicQl care dire~~i~that WQS duly executed in another 
jurisdiction within the United States in compliance with the laws 
of that jurisdiction is not ineffective in this StQte due to 
noncompliQnce with the lQws of this State. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the Probate Code to provide that powers of 
attorney validly executed in other jurisdictions are valid in 
this State, even if the Maine requirements for that document are 
not met. 
The 
types of powers 
of attorney covered are both 
durable and nondurable, and include financial powers of attorney 
and health care powers of attorney. 
This bill also creates a presumption that the out-of-state 
power of attorney was executed in compliance with the law of the 
jurisdiction in which it was executed. 
This 
bill 
exempts 
from 
the 
specific 
protective 
notice 
provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-11., 
section 
5-508 certain financial powers of attorney. 
Durable financial 
powers of attorney that are executed for the limited purpose of 
providing for the representation of the principal in specific 
real estate transactions will not need to include the cautionary 
language about the authority of agents and principals that is 
required for other financial powers of attorney.