An Act To Enact the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1404
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: HOBBINS
Amends: 22 MRSA §1711-C, 22 MRSA §8621

Legislative Document 
No. 1404 
S.P.507 
In Senate, April 2, 2009 
An Act To Enact the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator HOBBINS of York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
9t[J{!)~ 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 18-A MRS A Art. 5, Pt. 5, as amended, is repealed. 
UNIFORM POWER OF ATTORNEY ACT 
("UPOAA") 
Prefatory Note 
The catalyst for the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (the "Act") was a national review 
of state power of attorney legislation. The review revealed growing divergence among' 
states' statutory treatment of powers of attorney. The original Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act ("Original Act"), last amended in 1987, was at one time followed by all but 
a few jurisdictions. Despite initial uniformity, the review found that a majority of states 
had enacted non-uniform provisions to deal with specific matters upon which the Original 
Act is silent. The topics about which there was increasing divergence included: 1) the 
authority of multiple agents; 2) the authority of a later-appointed fiduciary or guardian; 3) 
the impact of dissolution or annulment of the principal's marriage to the agent; 4) 
activation of contingent powers; 5) the authority to make gifts; and 6) standards for agent 
conduct and liability. 
Other topics about which states had legislated, although not 
necessarily in a divergent manner, included: successor agents, execution requirements, 
portability, sanctions for dishonor of a power of attorney, and restrictions on authority 
that has the potential to dissipate a principal's property or alter a principal's estate plan. 
A national survey was then conducted by the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust 
and Estate Acts (JEB) to ascertain whether there was actual divergence of opinion about 
default rules for powers of attorney or only the lack of a detailed uniform model. The 
survey was distributed to probate and elder law sections of all state bar associations, to 
the fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the leadership of the 
ABA Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and the National Academy of 
Elder Law Attorneys, as well as to special interest list serves of the ABA Commission on 
Law and Aging. Forty-four jurisdictions were represented in the 371 surveys returned. 
The survey responses demonstrated a consensus of opinion in excess of seventy 
percent that a power of attorney statute should: 
(1) provide for confirmation that contingent powers are activated; 
(2) revoke a spouse-agent's authority upon the dissolution or annulment of the 
marriage to the principal; 
(3) include a portability provision; 
(4) require gift making authority to be expressly stated in the grant of authority; 
(5) provide a default standard for fiduciary duties; 
(6) permit the principal to alter the default fiduciary standard; 
(7) require notice by an agent when the agent is no longer willing or able to act; 
(8) include safeguards against abuse by the agent; 
(9) include remedies and sanctions for abuse by the agent; 
(10) protect the reliance of other persons on a power of attorney; and 
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(11) include remedies and sanctions for refusal of other persons to honor a power 
of attorney. 
Informed by the review and the survey results, the Conference's drafting process also 
incorporated input from the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the ABA 
Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, the ABA Commission on Law and 
Aging, the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts, the National 
Conference of Lawyers and Corporate Fiduciaries, the American Bankers Association, 
AARP, other professional groups, as well as numerous individual lawyers and corporate 
counsel. As a result of this process, the Act codifies both state legislative trends and 
collective best practices, and strikes a balance between the need for flexibility and 
acceptance of an agent's authority and the need to prevent and redress financial abuse. 
While the Act contains safeguards for the protection of an incapacitated principal, the 
Act is primarily a set of default rules that preserve a principal's freedom to choose both 
the extent of an agent's authority and the principles to govern the agent's conduct. 
Among the Act's features that enhance drafting flexibility are the statutory definitions of 
powers in Article 2, which can be incorporated by reference in an individually drafted 
power of attorney or selected for inclusion on the optional statutory form provided in 
Article 3. The statutory definitions of enumerated powers are an updated version of those 
in the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act (1988), which the Act supersedes. 
The national review found that eighteen jurisdictions had adopted some type of statutory 
form power of attorney. The decision to include a statutory form power of attorney in the 
Act was based on this trend and the proliferation of power of attorney forms currently 
available to the pUblic. 
Sections 119 and 120 of the Act address the problem of persons refusing to accept an 
agent's authority. Section 119 provides protection from liability for persons that in good 
faith accept an acknowledged power of attorney. Section 120 sanctions refusal to accept 
an acknowledged power of attorney unless the refusal meets limited statutory exceptions. 
An alternate Section 120 is provided for states that may wish to limit sanctions to refusal 
of an acknowledged statutory form power of attorney. 
In exchange for mandated acceptance of an agent's authority, the Act does not require 
persons that· deal with an agent to investigate the agent or the agent's actions. Instead, 
safeguards against abuse are provided through heightened requirements for granting 
authority that could dissipate the principal's property or alter the principal's estate plan 
(Section 201(a)), provisions that set out the agent's duties and liabilities (Sections 114 and 
117) and by specification of the categories of persons that have standing to request 
judicial review of the agent's conduct (Section 116). The following provides a brief 
overview of the entire Act. 
Overview of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act 
The Act consists of 4 articles. The basic substance of the Act is located in Articles 1 
and 2. 
Article 3 contains the optional statutory form and Article 4 consists of 
miscellaneous provisions dealing with general application of the Act and repeal of certain 
prior acts. 
Subpart 1 (UPOAA Article 1) - General Provisions and Definitions - Section 102 
lists definitions which are useful in interpretation of the Act. Of particular note is the 
definition of "incapacity" which replaces the term "disability" used in the Original Act. 
The definition of "incapacity" is consistent with the standard for appointment of a 
conservator under Section 401 of the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings 
Act as amended in 1997. Another significant change in terminology from the Original 
Act is the use of "agent" in place of the term "attorney in fact." The term "agent" was 
also used in the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act and is intended to clarify 
confusion in the lay public about the meaning of "attorney in fact." Section 103 provides 
that the Act is to apply broadly to all powers of attorney, but excepts from the Act powers 
of attorney for health care and certain specialized powers such as those coupled with an 
interest or dealing with proxy voting. 
Another innovation is the default rule in Section 1 04 that a power of attorney is 
durable unless it contains express 'language indicating otherwise. This change from the 
Original Act reflects the view that most principals prefer their powers of attorney to be 
durable as a hedge against the need for guardianship. While the Original Act was silent 
on execution requirements for a. power of attorney, Section 105 requires the principal's 
signature and provides that an acmowledged signature is presumed genuine. Section 106 
recognizes military powers of attorney and powers of attorney properly executed in other 
states or countries, or which were properly executed in the state of enactment prior to the 
Act's effective date. Section 107 states a choice of law rule for determining the law that 
governs the meaning and effect of a power of attorney. 
Section 108 addresses the relationship of the agent to a later court-appointed 
fiduciary. 
The Original Act conferred upon a conservator or other later-appointed 
fiduciary the same power to revoke or amend the power of attorney as the principal 
would have had prior to incapacity. In contrast, the Act reserves this power to the court 
and states that the agent's authority continues until limited, suspended, or terminated by 
the court. 
This approach reflects greater deference for the previously expressed 
preferences of the principal and is consistent with the state legislative trend that has 
departed from the Original Act. 
The default rule for when a power of attorney becomes effective is stated in Section 
109. Unless the principal specifies that it is to become effective upon a future date, event, 
or contingency, the authority of an agent under a power of attorney becomes effective 
when the power is executed. Section 109 permits the principal to designate who may 
determine when contingent powers are triggered. If the trigger for contingent powers is 
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the principal's incapacity, Section 109 provides that the person designated to make that 
determination has the authority to act as the principal's personal representative under the 
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for purposes of accessing 
the principal's health-care information and communicating with the principal's health-care 
provider. This provision does not, however, confer on the designated person the authority 
to make health-care decisions for the principal. If the trigger for contingent powers is 
incapacity but the principal has not designated anyone to make the determination, or the 
person authorized is unable or unwilling to make the determination, the determination 
may be made by a physician or licensed psychologist, who must find that the principal's 
ability to manage property or business affairs is impaired, or by an attorney at law, judge, 
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or appropriate governmental official, who must find that the principal is missing, 
detained, or unable to return to the United States. 
The bases for termination of a power of attorney are covered in Section 110. In 
response to concerns expressed in the JEB survey, the Act provides as the default rule 
that authority granted to a principal's spouse is revoked upon the commencement of 
proceedings for legal separation, marital dissolution or annulment. 
Sections 111 through 118 address matters related to the agent, including default rules 
for coagents and successor agents (Section 111), reimbursement and compensation 
(Section 112), an agent's acceptance of appointment (Section 113), and the agent's duties 
(Section 114). Section 115 provides that a principal may lower the standard of liability 
for agent conduct subject to a minimum level of accountability for actions taken 
dishonestly, with an improper motive, or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the 
power of attorney or the best interest of the principal. 
Section 116 sets out a 
comprehensive list of persons that may petition the court to review the agent's conduct 
and Section 117 addresses agent liability. An agent may resign by following the notice 
procedures described in Section118. 
Sections 119 and 120 are included in the Act to address the frequently reported 
problem of persons refusing to accept a power of attorney. Section 119 protects persons 
that in good faith accept an acknowledged power of attorney without actual knowledge 
that the power of attorney is revoked, terminated, or invalid or that the agent is exceeding 
or improperly exercising the agent's powers. Subject to statutory exceptions, alternative 
Sections 120 impose liability for refusal to accept a power of attorney. Alternative A 
sanctions refusal of an acknowledged power of attorney and Alternative B sanctions only 
refusal of an acknowledged statutory form power of attorney. 
Sections 121 through 123 address the relationship of the Act to other law. Section 
clarifies that the Act is supplemented by the principles of common law and equity to 
the extent those principles are not displaced by a specific provision of the Act, and 
. Section 122 further clarifies that the Act is not intended to supersede any law applicable 
to financial institutions or other entities. With respect to remedies, Section 123 provides 
that the remedies under the Act are not exclusive and do not abrogate any other cause of 
action or remedy that may be available under the law of the enacting jurisdiction. 
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Subpart 2 (UPOAA Article 2) - Authority - The Act offers the drafting attorney 
enhanced flexibility whether drafting an individually tailored power of attorney or using 
the statutory form. Like the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act, Sections 
through 217 of the Act set forth detailed descriptions of authority relating to subjects 
such as "real property," "retirement plans," and "taxes," which a principal, pursuant to 
Section 202, may incorporate in full into the power of attorney either by a reference to 
the short descriptive term for the subject used in the Act or to the section number. 
Section 202 further states that a principal may modify in a power of attorney any 
authority incorporated by reference. The definitions in Article 2 also provide meaning for 
authority with respect to subjects enumerated on the optional statutory form in Article 3. 
Section 203 applies to all incorporated authority and grants of general authority, 
providing further detail on how the authority is to be construed. 
Article 2 also addresses concerns about authority that might be used to dissipate the 
principal's property or alter the principal's estate plan. 
Section 201 (a) lists specific 
categories of authority that cannot be implied from a grant of general authority, but which 
may be granted only through express language in the power of attorney. Section 201 (b) 
contains a default rule prohibiting an agent that is not an ancestor,spouse, or descendant 
of the principal from creating in the agent or in a person to whom the agent owes a legal 
obligation of support an interest in the principal's property, whether by gift, right of 
survivorship, beneficiary designation, disclaimer, or otherwise. 
Subpart 3 (upOAA Article 3) - Statutory Forms - The optional form in Article 3 
is designed for use by lawyers as well as lay persons. It contains, in plain language, 
instructions to the principal and agent. Step-by-step prompts are given for designation of 
the agent and successor agents, and grant of general and specific authority. In the section 
of the form addressing general authority, the principal must initial the subjects over which 
the principal wishes to delegate general authority to the agent. In the section of the form 
addressing specific authority, the Section 201 (a) categories of specific authority are 
listed, preceded by a warning to the principal about the potential consequences of 
granting such authority to an agent. The principal is instructed to initial only the specific 
categories of actions that the principal intends to authorize. Article 3 also contains a 
sample agent certification form. 
Subpart 4 (UPOAA Article 4) - Miscenaneous Provisions - The miscellaneous 
provisions in Article 4 clarify the relationship of the Act to other law and pre-existing 
powers of attorney. Enacting jurisdictions should repeal their existing power of attorney 
statutes, including, if applicable, the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act, The 
Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act, and Article 5, Part 5 of the Uniform 
Probate Code. 
SUBPART 1 (upOAA ARTICLE 1) 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
General Uniform Comment 
The Uniform Power of Attorney Act replaces the Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act, the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act, and Article 5, Part 5 of 
the Uniform Probate Code. The primary purpose of the Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act was to provide individuals with an inexpensive, non-judicial method of 
surrogate property management in the event of later incapacity. Two key concepts were 
introduced by the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act: 
1) creation of a durable 
agency-.:.one that survives, or is triggered by, the principal's incapacity, and 2) validation 
of post-mortem exercise of powers by an agent who acts in good faith and without actual 
knowledge of the principal's death. 
The success of the Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act is evidenced by the widespread use of durable powers in every jurisdiction, 
not only for incapacity planning, but also for convenience while the principal retains 
capacity. However, the limitations of the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act are 
evidenced by the number of states that have supplemented and revised their statutes to 
address myriad issues upon which the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act is silent. 
These issues include parameters for the creation and use of powers of attorney as well as 
guidelines for the principal, the agent, and the person who is asked to accept the agent's 
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authority. The general provisions and defInitions of Article 1 in the Unifonn Power of 
Attorney Act address those issues. 
In addition to providing greater detail than the Unifonn Durable Power of Attorney 
Act, this Act changes two presumptions in the earlier act: 1) that a power of attorney is 
not durable unless it contains language to make it durable; and 2) that a later court-
appointed fIduciary for the principal has the power to revoke or amend a previously 
executed power of attorney. 
Section 104 of this Article reverses the non-durability 
presumption by stating that a power of attorney is durable unless it expressly provides 
that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. Section 108 gives deference to the 
principal's choice of agent by providing that if a court appoints a fIduciary to manage 
some or all of the principal's property, the agent's authority continues unless limited, 
suspended, or terminated by the court. 
Although the Act is primarily a default statute, Article 1 also contains rules that 
govern all powers of attorney subject to the Act. 
Examples of these rules include 
imposition of certain minimum fIduciary duties on an agent who has accepted 
appointment (Section 114(a)), recognition of persons who have standing to request 
judicial construction of the power of attorney or review of the agent's conduct (Section 
116), and protections for persons who accept an aclmowledged power of attorney without 
actual lmowledge that the power of attorney or the agent's authority is void, invalid, or 
terminated, or that the agent is exceeding or improperly exercising the power (Section 
119). In contrast with the rules of general application in Article 1, the default provisions 
are clearly indicated by signals such as "unless the power of attorney otherwise 
provides,"or "except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney." These signals alert 
the draftsperson to options for enlarging or limiting the Act's default tenns. For example, 
default provisions in Article 1 state that, unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, 
the power of attorney is effective immediately (Section 109), co agents may exercise their 
authority independently (Section 111), and an agent is entitled to reimbursement of 
expenses reasonably incurred and to reasonable compensation (Section 112). 
Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA Art. 5, Pt. 9 is enacted to read: 
PART 9 
MAINE UNIFORM POWER OF ATTORNEY ACT 
SUBPART 1 
GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS 
§5-901. Short title 
This Part may be lmown and cited as "the Maine Unifonn Power of Attorney Act." 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 101 of the UPOAA) 
This Act, which replaces the Unifonn Durable Power of Attorney Act, does not 
contain the word "durable" in the title. Pursuant to Section 104, a power of attorney 
created under the Act is durable unless the power of attorney provides that it is terrninated 
by the incapacity of the principal. 
§5-902. Definitions 
As used in this Part, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following tenns have 
the following meanings. 
(a). "Agent" means a person granted authority to act for a principal under a power of 
attorney, whether denominated an agent, attorney-in-fact or otherwise. The tenn includes 
an original agent, coagent, successor agent and a person to which an agent's authority is 
delegated: 
(b). "Durable," with respect to a power of attorney, means not terrninated by the 
principal's incapacity. 
(e). "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, 
wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities. 
(d). "Good faith" means honesty in fact. 
(e). "Incapacity" means inability of an individual to manage property or business 
affairs because the individual: 
(1). Is impaired by reason of mental illness, mental deficiency, physical illness or 
disability, chronic use of drugs, chronic intoxication or other cause to the extent that 
the individual lacks sufficient understanding, capacity or ability to receive and 
evaluate infonnation or make or communicate decisions; or 
(2). Is: 
en Missing; 
(m Detained, including incarcerated in a penal system; or 
(iii) Outside the United States and unable to return. 
m. 
"Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, 
partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, 
government or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality or any other legal or 
commercial entity. 
(g). "Power of attorney" means a writing or other record that grants authority to an 
agent to act in the place of the principal, whether or not the tenn "power of attorney" is 
used. 
(h). "Presently exercisable general power of appointment," with respect to property 
or a property interest subject to a power of appointment, means power exercisable at the 
time in question to vest absolute ownership in the principal individually, the principal's 
estate, the principal's creditors or the creditors of the principal's estate. 
The tenn 
includes a power of appointment not exercisable until the occurrence of a specified event, 
the satisfaction of an ascertainable standard or the passage of a specified period only after 
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the occurrence of the specified event, the satisfaction of the ascertainable standard or the 
passage of the specified period. The term does not include a power exercisable in a 
fiduciary capacity or only by will. 
(i). "Principal" means an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of 
attorney. 
(j). "Property" means anything that may be the subject of ownership, whether real or 
personal, or legal or equitable, or any interest or right therein. 
(k). "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is 
stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. 
(I). 
"Registered domestic partner" means an individual registered as a domestic 
partner under Title 22, section 2710, subsection 3. 
(m). "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record: 
(1). To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or 
(2). To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic sound, symbol or 
process . 
. (n). "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 
the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States. 
(0). "Stocks and bonds" means stocks, bonds, mutual funds and all other types of 
securities and financial instruments, whether held directly, indirectly or in any other 
manner. The term does not include commodity futures contracts and call or put options 
on stocks or stock indexes. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 102 of the UPOAA) 
Although most of the definitions in Section 102 are self-explanatory, a few of the 
terms warrant further comment. 
"Agent" replaces the term "attorney in fact" used in the Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act to avoid confusion in the lay public about the meaning of the term and the 
difference between an attorney in fact and an attorney at law. Agent was also used in the 
Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act which this Act supersedes. 
"Incapacity" replaces the term "disability" used in the Uniform Durable Power of 
Attorney Act in recognition that disability does not necessarily render an individual 
incapable of property and business management. The definition of incapacity stresses the 
operative consequences of the individual's impairment-inability to manage property and 
business affairs-rather than the impairment itself. The definition of incapacity in the Act 
is also consistent with the standard for appointment of a conservator under Section 401 of 
the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act as amended in 1997. 
The definition of "power of attorney" clarifies that the tenn applies to any grant of 
authority in a writing or other record from a principal to an agent which appears from the 
grant to be a power of attorney, without regard to whether the words "power of attorney" 
are actually used in the grant. 
"Presently exercisable general power of appointment" is defined to clarify that where 
the phrase appears in the Act it does not include a power exercisable by the principal in a 
fiduciary capacity or exercisable only by will. Cf Restatement (Third) of Property (Wills 
and Don. Trans.) § 19.8 cmt. d (Tentative Draft No.5, approved 2006) (noting that unless 
the donor of a presently exercisable power of attorney has manifested a contrary intent, it 
is assumed that the donor intends that the donee's agent be permitted to exercise the 
power for the benefit of the donee). Including in a power of attorney the authority to 
exercise a presently exercisable general power of appointment held by the principal is 
consistent with the objective of giving an agent comprehensive management authority 
over the principal's property and fmancial affairs. 
The tenn appears in Section 211 
(Estates, Trusts, and Other Beneficial Interests) in the context of authority to exercise for 
the benefit of the principal a presently exercisable general power of appointment held by 
the principal (see Section 211(b)(3)), and in Section 217 (Gifts) in the context of 
authority to exercise for the benefit of someone else a presently exercisable general 
power of appointment held by the principal (see Section 217(b)(1)). The tenn is also 
incorporated by reference when using the statutory fonn in Section 301 to grant authority 
with respect to "Estates, Trusts, and Other Beneficial Interests" or authority with respect 
to "Gifts." If a principal wishes to delegate authority to exercise a power that the 
principal holds in a fiduciary capacity, Section 201(a)(7) requires that the power of 
attorney contain an express grant of such authority. Furthennore, delegation of a power 
held in a fiduciary capacity is possible only if the principal has authority to delegate the 
power, and the agent's authority is necessarily limited by whatever tenns govern the 
principal's ability to exercise the power. 
Maine Comment 
Subsection (e), the definition of incapacity, deviates from the Unifonn Act by 
applying the definition of incapacity from 18-A M.R.S.A. §§ 5-101(1) and 5-401(2). A 
new subsection (1) adds the definition of registered domestic partner under Maine law, 
which is used throughout the act. 
§5-903. Applicability 
" 
This Part applies to all powers of attorney except: 
(a). A power to the extent it is coupled with an interest in the subject of the power, 
including a power given to or for the benefit of a creditor in connection with a credit 
transaction; 
(b). A power to make health care decisions; 
(c). A proxy or other delegation to exercise voting rights or management rights with 
respect to an entity; and 
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(d). 
A power created on a form prescribed by a govenunent or govenunental 
subdivision, agency or instrumentality for a govenunental purpose. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 103 of the UPOAA) 
The Uniform Power of Attorney Act is intended to be comprehensive with respect to 
delegation of surrogate decision making authority over an individual's property and 
property interests, whether for the purpose of incapacity planning or mere convenience. 
Given that an agent will likely exercise authority at times when the principal cannot 
monitor the agent's conduct, the Act specifies minimum agent duties and protections for 
the principal's· benefit. 
These provisions, however, may not be appropriate for all 
delegations of authority that might otherwise be included within the definition of a power 
of attorney. Section 103 lists delegations of authority that are excluded from the Act 
because the subject matter of the delegation, the objective of the delegation, the agent's 
role with respect to the delegation, or a combination of the foregoing, would make 
application of the Act's provisions inappropriate. 
Paragraph (1) excludes a power to the extent that it is coupled with an interest in the 
subject of the power. This exclusion addresses situations where, due to the agent's 
interest in the subject matter of the power, the agent is not intended to act as the 
principal's fiduciary. 
See Restatement (Third) of Agency § 3.12 (2006) and M.T. 
Brunner, Annotation, What Constitutes Power Coupled with Interest within Rule as to 
Termination of Agency, 28 A.L.R.2d 1243 (1953). Common examples of powers coupled 
with an interest include powers granted to a creditor to perfect or protect title in, or to 
sell, pledged collateral. While the example of "a power given to or for the benefit of a 
creditor in connection with a credit transaction" is highlighted in paragraph (1), it is not 
meant to exclude application of paragraph (1) to other contexts in which a power may be 
coupled with an interest, such as a power held by an insurer to settle or confess judgment 
on behalf of an insured. See, e.g., Hayes v. Gessner, 52 N.E.2d 968 (Mass. 1944). 
Paragraph (2) excludes from the Act delegations of authority to make health-care 
decisions for the principal. 
Such delegations are covered under other law of the 
jurisdiction. The Act recognizes, however, that matters of financial management and 
health-care decision making are often interdependent. The Act consequently provides in 
Section 114(b)(5) a default rule that an agent under the Act must cooperate with the 
principal's health-care decision maker. 
Likewise, paragraph (3) excludes from the Act a proxy or other delegation to exercise 
voting rights or management rights with respect to an entity. The rules with respect to 
those rights are typically controlled by entity-specific statutes within a jurisdiction. See, 
e.g., Model Bus. Corp. Act § 7.22 (2002); Unif. Ltd. Partnership Act § 118 (2001); and 
Unif. Ltd. Liability Co. Act § 404(e) (1996). Notwithstanding the exclusion of such 
delegations from the operation of this Act, Section 209 contemplates that a power granted 
to an agent with respect to operation of an entity or business includes the authority to 
"exercise in person or by proxy ... a right, power, privilege, or option the plincipal has or 
claims to have as the holder of stocks and bonds ... . "(see paragraph (5) of Section 209). 
Thus, while a person that holds only a proxy pursuant to an entity voting statute will not 
be subj ect to the provisions of this Act, an agent that is granted Section 209 authority is 
subject to the Act because the principal has given the agent authority that is greater than 
that of a mere voting proxy. In fact, typical entity statutes contemplate that a principal's 
agent or "attorney in fact" may appoint a proxy on behalf of the principal. 
See, e.g., 
Model Bus. Corp. Act § 7.22 (2002); Unif. Ltd. Partnership Act § 118 (2001); and Unif. 
Ltd. Liability Co. Act § 404(e) (1996). 
Paragraph (4) excludes from the Act any power created on a governmental form for a 
governmental purpose. Like the excluded powers in paragraphs (2) and (3), the authority 
for a power created on a governmental form emanates from other law and is generally for 
a limited purpose. Notwithstanding this exclusion, the Act specifically provides in 
paragraph (7) of Section 203 that a grant of authority to an agent includes, with respect to 
that subject matter, authority to "prepare, execute, and file a record, report, or other 
document to safeguard or promote the principal's interest under a statute or governmental 
regulation." Section 203, paragraph (8), further clarifies that the agent has the authority 
to "communicate with any representative or employee of a government or governmental 
subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, on behalf of the principal." The intent of these 
provisions is to minimize the need for a special power on a governmental form with 
respect to any subject matter over which an agent is granted authority under the Act. 
§5-904. Power of attorney is durable 
A power of attorney created under this Part is durable unless it expressly provides 
that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 104 of the UPOAA) 
Section 104 establishes that a power of attorney created under the Act is durable 
unless it expressly states otherwise. This default rule is the reverse of the approach under 
the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act and based on the assumption that most 
principals prefer durability as a hedge against the need for guardianship. See also Section 
Comment (noting that the default rules of the jurisdiction's law under which a power 
of attorney is created, including the default rule for durability, govern the meaning and 
effect of a power of attorney). 
§5-905. Execution of power of attorney; notices 
(a). 
A power of attorney must be signed by the principal or in the principal's 
conscious presence by another individual directed by the principal to sign the principal's 
name on the power of attorney. A signature on a power of attorney is presumed to be 
genuine if the principal acknowledges the signature before a notary public or other 
individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments. 
(b). 
A power of attorney is not valid unless it· contains the following notices 
substantially in the following form: 
"Notice to the Principal: As the "Principal" you are using this power of attorney to grant 
power to another person (called the Agent) to make decisions about your property and to 
use your property on your behalf. Under this power of attorney you give your Agent 
broad and sweeping powers to sell or otherwise dispose of your property without notice 
Page II - 124LR0949(Ol}-1 
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to you. Under this document your Agent will continue to have these powers after you 
become incapacitated. The powers that you give your Agent are explained more fully in 
the Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Maine Revised Statutes, Title l8-A, Article 5, 
Part 9. You have the right to revoke this power of attorney at any time as long as you are 
not incapacitated. If there is anything about this 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" you are given power under this power of attorney to 
make decisions about the property belonging to the Principal and to dispose of the 
Principal's property on the Principal's behalf in accordance with the terms of this power 
of attorney. This power of attorney is valid only if the Principal is of sound mind when 
the Principal signs it. When you accept the authority granted under this power of attorney 
a special legal relationship is created between you and the Principal. This relationship 
imposes upon you legal duties that continue until you resign or ihe power of attorney is 
terminated or revoked. The duties are more fully explained in the Maine Uniform Power 
of Attorney Act, Maine Revised Statutes, Title l8-A, Article 5, Part 9. As the Agent, you 
are generally not entitled to use the Principal's property for your own benefit or to make 
gifts to yourself or others unless the power of attorney gives you such authority. If you 
violate your duty under this power of attorney you may be liable for damages and may be 
s~bject to criminal prosecution. You must stop acting on behalf of the Principal if you 
learn of any event that terminates this power of attorney or your authority under this 
power of attorney. Events of termination are more fully explained in the Maine Uniform 
Power of Attorney Act and include, but are not limited to, revocation of your authority or 
of the power of attorney by the Principal, the death of the Principal or the commencement 
of divorce proceedings between you and the Principal. If there is anything about this 
power of attorney or your duties under it that you do not understand you should ask a 
lawyer to explain it to you. If 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 105 of the UPOAA) 
While notarization of the principal's signature is not required to create a valid power 
of attorney, this section strongly encourages the practice by according acknowledged 
signatures a statutory presumption of genuineness. Furthermore, because Section 119 
(Acceptance of and Reliance Upon Acknowledged Power of Attorney) and alternative 
Sections 120 (Alternative A-Liability for Refusal to Accept Acknowledged Power of 
Attorney, and Alternative B-Liability for Refusal to Accept Acknowledged Statutory 
Form Power of Attorney) do not apply to unacknowledged powers, persons who are 
presented with an unacknowledged power of attorney may be reluctant to accept it. As a 
practical matter, an acknowledged signature is required if the power of attorney will be 
recorded by the agent in conjunction with the execution of real estate documents on 
behalf of the principal. See R.P .D., Annotation, Recording Laws as Applied to Power of 
Attorney under which Deed or Mortgage is Executed, 114 AL.R. 660 (1938). 
This section, at a minimum, requires that the power of attorney be signed by the 
principal or by another individual who the principal has directed to sign the principal's 
name. If another individual is directed to sign the principal's name, the signing must 
occur in the principal's "conscious presence." The 1990 amendments to the Uniform 
Probate Code codified the "conscious presence" test for the execution of wills (Section 2-
502(a)(2», which generally requires that the signing is sufficient if it takes place within 
the range of the senses-usually sight or hearing-of the individual who directed that 
another sign the individual's name. See Unif. Probate Code § 2-502 cmt. (2003). For a 
discussion of acknowledgment of a signature by an individual whose name is signed by 
another, see R.L.M., Annotation, Formal Acknowledgment of Instrument by One Whose 
Name is Signed thereto by Another as an Adoption of the Signature, 57 AL.R. 525 
(1928). 
Maine Comment 
Subsection (b) is a deviation from the Uniform Act and continues, in part, Maine law 
regarding required notices in the power of attorney. The change, however, is that the 
notice may now be substantially similar to the statutory language as opposed to verbatim. 
Under prior law the verbatim requirement would frequently invalidate otherwise valid 
powers of attorney if, for example, the notice was missing a comma. 
§5-906. Validity of power of attorney 
(a). A power of attorney executed in this State on or after July 1, 2010 is valid if its 
execution complies with section 5-905. 
(b). A power of attorney executed in this State before July 1, 2010 is valid if its 
execution complied with the law of this State as it existed at the time of execution. 
(e). A power of attorney executed other than in this State is valid in this State if, 
when the power of attorney was executed, the execution complied with: 
(1). The law of the jurisdiction that detennines the meaning and effect of the power 
of attorney pursuant to section 5-907; or 
(2). The requirements for a military power of attorney pursuant to 10 Uriited States 
Code, Section 1044b, as amended. 
(d). Except as otherwise provided by statute other than this Part, a photocopy or 
electronically transmitted copy of an original power of attorney has the same effect as the 
original.' 
' 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 106 of the UPOAA) 
One of the purposes of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act is promotion of the 
portability and use of powers of attorney. Section 106 makes clear that the Act does not 
affect the validity of pre-existing powers of attorney executed under prior law in the 
enacting jurisdiction, powers of attorney validly created under the law of another 
jurisdiction, and military powers of attorney. 
While the effect of this section is to 
recognize the validity of powers of attorney created under other law, it does not abrogate 
the traditional grounds for contesting the validity of execution such as forgery, fraud, or 
undue influence. 
This section also provides that unless another law in the jurisdiction requires 
presentation of the original power of attorney, a photocopy or electronically transmitted 
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copy has the same effect as the original. An example of another law that might require 
presentation of the original power of attorney is the jurisdiction's recording act. See, e.g., 
Restatement (Third) of Property (Wills & Don. Trans.) § 6.3 cmt. e (2003) (noting that in 
order to record a deed, "some states require that the document of transfer be signed, 
sealed, attested, and aclmowledged"). 
§5-907. Meaning and effect of power of attorney 
The meaning and effect of a power of attorney is determined by the law of the 
jurisdiction indicated in the power of attorney and, in the absence of an indication of 
jurisdiction, by the law of the jurisdiction in which the power of attorney was executed. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 107 of the UPOAA) 
This section recognizes that a foreign power of attorney, or one executed before the 
effective date of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, may have been created under 
different default rules than those in this Act. Section 107 provides that the meaning and 
effect of a power of attorney is to be determined by the law under which it was created. 
For example, the law in another jurisdiction may provide for different default rules with 
respect to durability of a power of attorney (see Section 104), the authority of coagents 
(see Section Ill) or the scope of specific authority such as the authority to make gifts 
(see Section 217). Section 107 clarifies that the principal's intended grant of authority 
will be neither enlarged nor narrowed by virtue of the agent using the power in a different 
jurisdiction. For a discussion of the issues that can arise with inter-jurisdictional use of 
powers of attorney, see Linda S. Whitton, Crossing State Lines with Durable Powers, 
Prob. & Prop., Sept./Oct. 2003, at 28. 
This section also establishes an objective means for determining what jurisdiction's 
law the principal intended to govern the meaning and effect of a power of attorney. The 
phrase, "the law of the jurisdiction indicated in the power of attorney," is intentionally 
broad, and includes any statement or reference in a power of attorney that indicates the 
principal's choice of law. Examples of an indication of jurisdiction include a reference to 
the name of the jurisdiction in the title or body of the power of attorney, citation to the 
jurisdiction's power of attorney statute, or an explicit statement that the power of attorney 
is created or executed under the laws of a particular jurisdiction. In the absence of an 
indication of jurisdiction in the power of attorney, Section 107 provides that the law of 
the jurisdiction in which the power of attorney was executed controls. The distinction 
between "the law of the jurisdiction indicated in the power of attorney" and "the law of 
. the jurisdiction in which the power of attorney was executed" is an important one. The 
common practice of property ownership in more than one jurisdiction increases the 
likelihood that a principal may execute in one jurisdiction a power of attorney that was 
created and intended to be interpreted under the laws of another jurisdiction. A clear 
indication of the jurisdiction's law that is intended to govern the meaning and effect of a 
power,of attorney is therefore advisable in all powers of attorney. See, e.g., Section 301 
(providing for the name of the jurisdiction to appear in the title of the statutory form 
power of attorney). 
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§5-90S. 
Nomination of conservator or guardian; relation of agent to court-
appointed fiduciary 
(a). In a power of attorney, a principal may nominate a conservator of the principal's 
estate or guardian of the principal's person for consideration by the court if protective 
proceedings for the principal's estate or person are begun after the principal executes the 
power of attorney. Except for good cause shown or disqualification, the court shall make 
its appointment in accordance with the principal's most recent nomination. 
(b). If, after a principal executes a power of attorney, a court appoints a conservator 
of the principal's estate or other fiduciary charged with the management of some or all of 
the principal's property, the agent is accountable to the fiduciary as well as to the 
principal. The power of attorney is not terminated and the agent's authority continues 
unless limited, suspended or terminated by the court. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 108 of the UPOAA) 
Section 1 08(b) is a departure from the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act 
which gave a court-appointed fiduciary the same power to revoke or amend a power of 
attorney as the principal would have if not incapacitated. See Unif. Durable Power of 
Atty. Act § 3(a) (1987). In contrast, this Act gives deference to the principal's choice of 
agent by providing that the agent's authority continues, notwithstanding the later court 
appointment of a fiduciary, unless the court acts to limit or terminate the agent's authority. 
This approach assumes that the later-appointed fiduciary's authority should supplement, 
not truncate, the agent's authority. 
If, however, a fiduciary appointment is required 
because of the agent's inadequate performance or breach of fiduciary duties, the court, 
having considered this evidence during the appointment proceedings, may limit or 
terminate the agent's authority contemporaneously with appointment of the fiduciary. 
Section 1 08(b) is consistent with the state legislative trend that has departed from the 
Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act. See, e.g., 755 Ill. Compo Stat. Ann. 45/2-10 
(West 1992); Ind. Code Ann. § 30-5-3-4 (West 1994); Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-662 (2005); 
Mo. Ann. Stat. § 404.727 (West 2001); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 46:2B-8,4 (West 2003); N.M. 
Stat. Ann. § 45-5-503A (LexisNexis 2004); Utah Code Ann. § 75-5-501 (Supp. 2006); 
Vt; Stat. Ann. tit. 14, § 3509(a) (2002); Va. Code Ann. § 11-9.lB (2006). Section 108(b) 
is also consistent with the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act § 6(a) (1993), which 
provides that a guardian may not revoke the ward's advance health-care directive unless 
the court appointing the guardian expressly so authorizes. Furthermore, it is consistent 
with the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act (1997), which provides 
that a guardian or conservator may not revoke the ward's or protected person's power of 
attorney for health-care or financial management without first obtaining express authority 
of the court. See Unif. Guardianship & Protective Proc. Act § 316(c) (guardianship), § 
(d) (protective proceedings). 
Deference for the principal's autonomous choice. is evident both in the presumption 
that an agent's authority continues unless limited or terminated by the court, and in the 
directive that the court shall appoint a fiduciary in accordance with the principal's most 
recent nomination (see subsection (a)). Typically, a principal will nominate as 
conservator or guardian the same individual named as agent under the power of attorney. 
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Favoring the principal's choice of agent and nominee, an approach consistent with most 
statutory hierarchies for guardian selection (see Unif. Guardianship & Protective Proc. 
Act § 310(a)(2) (1997», also discourages guardianship petitions filed for the sole purpose 
of thwarting the agent's authority to gain control over a vulnerable principal. See Unif. 
Guardianship & Protective Proc. Act § 310 cmt. (1997). See also Linda S. Ershow-
Levenberg, When Guardianship Actions Violate the Constitutionally-Protected Right of 
Privacy, NABLA News, Apr. 2005, at 1 (arguing that appointment of a guardian when 
there is a valid power of attorney in place violates the alleged incapacitated person's 
constitutionally protected rights of privacy and association). 
§5-909. When power of attorney effective 
(a). A power of attorney is effective when executed unless the principal provides in 
the power of attorney that it becomes effective at a future date or upon the occurrence of 
a future event or contingency. 
(b). If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the occurrence of a future event 
or contingency, the principal, in the power of attorney, may authorize one or more 
persons to determine in a writing or other record that the event or contingency has 
occurred. 
. 
(c). If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the principal's incapacity and the 
principal has not authorized a person to determine whether the principal is incapacitated, 
or the person authorized is unable or unwilling to make the determination, the power of 
, attorney becomes effective upon a determination in a writing or other record by: 
(1). A physician that the principal is incapacitated within the meaning of section 
5-902, subsection (e), paragraph (1); or 
(2). An attorney at law, a judge or an appropriate governmental official that the 
principal is incapacitated within the meaning of section 5-902, subsection (e), 
paragraph (2). 
(d). A person authorized by the principal in the power of attorney to determine that 
the principal is incapacitated may act as the principal's personal representative pursuant 
to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 United 
States Code, Section 1320d, et seq., as amended, and applicable regulations, to obtain 
access to the principal's health care information and corrununicate with the principal's 
health care provider. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 109 of the UPOAA) 
This section establishes a default rule that a power of attorney is effective when 
executed. If the principal chooses to create what is corrunonly known as a "springing" or 
contingent power of attorney-one that becomes effective at a future date or upon a future 
event or contingency-the principal may authorize the agent or someone else to provide 
written verification that the event or contingency has occurred (subsection (b». Because 
the person authorized to verify the principal's incapacitation will likely need access to the 
principal's health information, subsection (d) qualifies that person to act as the principal's 
"personal representative" for purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and 
Accountability Act (HIPAA). See 45 C.F.R. § 164.502(g)(1)-(2) (2006) (providing that 
for purposes of disclosing an individual's protected health infonnation, "a covered entity 
must. .. treat a personal representative as the individual"). Section 109 does not, 
however, empower the agent to make health-care decisions for the principal. See Section 
and comment (discussing exclusion from this Act of powers to make health-care 
decisions). 
The default rule reflects a "best practices" philosophy that any agent who can be 
trusted to act for the principal under a springing power of attorney should be trustworthy 
enough to hold an immediate power. 
Survey evidence suggests, however, that a 
significant number of principals still prefer springing powers, most likely to maintain 
privacy in the hope that they will never need a surrogate decision maker. See Linda S. 
Whitton, National Durable Power of Attorney Survey Results and Analysis, National 
Conference 
of 
Commissioners 
on 
Unifonn 
State 
Laws, 
6-7 
(2002), 
http://www.law.upenn.edulbll/ulc/dpoaa/surveyoct2002.htm (reporting that 23% of 
lawyer respondents found their clients preferred springing powers, 61% reported a 
preference for immediate powers, and 16% saw no trend; however, 89% stated that a 
power of attorney statute should authorize springing powers). 
If the principal's incapacity is the trigger for a springing power of attorney and the 
principal has not authorized anyone to make that determination, or the authorized person 
is unable or unwilling to make the determination, this section provides a default 
mechanism to trigger the power. Incapacity based on the principal's impainnent may be 
verified by a physician or licensed psychologist (subsection (c)(1», and incapacity based 
on the principal's unavailability (i.e., the principal is missing, detained, or unable to return 
to the United States) may be verified by an attorney at law, judge, or an appropriate 
governmental official (subsection (c)(2». 
Examples of appropriate governmental 
officials who may be in a position to determine that the principal is incapacitated within 
the meaning of Section 102(5)(B) include an officer acting under authority of the United 
States Department of State or unifonned services of the United States or a sworn federal 
or state law enforcement officer. The default mechanism for triggering a power of 
attorney is available only when no incapacity determination has been made. It is not 
available to challenge the determination made by the principal's authorized designee. 
§5-910. Termination of power of attorney or agent's authority 
(a). A power of attorney terminates when: 
(1). The principal dies; 
(2). The principal becomes incapacitated, if the power of attorney is not durable; 
(3). The principal revokes the power of attorney; 
(4). The power of attorney provides that it terminates; 
(5). The purpose of the power of attorney is accomplished; or 
) 
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(6). 
The principal revokes the agent's authority or the agent dies, becomes 
incapacitated or resigns and the power of attorney does not provide for another agent 
to act under the power of attorney. 
Cb). An agent's authority tenninates: 
(1). When the principal revokes the authority; 
(2). When the agent dies, becomes incapacitated or resigns; 
(3). When an action is filed for the tennination or annulment of the agent's marriage 
to the principal or their legal separation, unless the power of attorney otherwise 
provides; 
(4). Upon the sooner to occur of either the marriage of the principal to a person other 
than the agent if upon or after execution of the power of attorney the principal and the 
agent are or became registered domestic partners, the filing with the domestic partner 
registry; in accordance with Title 22, section 2710, subsection 4, of a notice 
consenting to the tennination of a registered domestic partnership of the principal and 
the agent or upon service, in accordance with Title 22, section 2710, subsection 4, of 
a notice of intent to tenninate the registered domestic partnership of the principal and 
the agent; or 
(5). The power of attorney tenninates. 
(e). 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, an agent's authority is 
exercisable until the authority tenninates under subsection (b), notwithstanding a lapse of 
time since the execution of the power of attorney. 
Cd). Tennination of an agent's authority or of a power of attorney is not effective as 
to the agent or another person that, without actual knowledge of the tennination, acts in 
good faith under the power of attorney. An act so performed, unless otherwise invalid or 
unenforceable, binds the principal and the principal's successors in interest. 
Ce). Incapacity of the principal of a power of attorney that is not durable does not 
revoke or tenninate the power of attorney as to an agent or other person that, without 
actual knowledge of the incapacity, acts in good faith under the power of attorney. An 
act so performed, unless otherwise invalid or unenforceable, binds the principal and the 
principal's successors in interest. 
ill. The execution of a power of attorney does not revoke a power of attorney 
previously executed by the principal unless the subsequent power of attorney provides 
that the previous power of attorney is revoked or that all other powers of attorney are 
revoked. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 110 of the UPOAA) 
This section addresses tennination of a power of attorney or an agent's authority 
under a power of attorney. It first lists tennination events (see subsections (a) and (b)), 
and then lists circumstances that, in contrast, either do not invalidate the power of 
attorney (see subsections (c) and (f)) or the actions taken pursuant to the power of 
attorney (see subsections (d) and (e)). 
Subsection (c) provides that a power of attorney under the Act does not become 
"stale." Unless a power of attorney provides for termination upon a certain date or after 
the passage of a period of time, lapse of time since execution is irrelevant to validity, a 
concept carried over from the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act. 
See Unif. 
Durable Power of Atty. Act § 1 (as amended in 1987). Similarly, subsection (f) clarifies 
that a subsequently executed power of attorney will not revoke a prior power of attorney 
by virtue of inconsistency alone. To effect a revocation, a subsequently executed power 
of attorney must expressly revoke a previously executed power of attorney or state that all 
other powers of attorney are revoked. The requirement of express revocation prevents 
inadvertent revocation when the principal intends for one agent to have limited authority 
that overlaps with broader authority held by another agent. For example, the principal 
who has given one agent a very broad power of attorney, including general authority with 
respect to real property, may later wish to give another agent limited authority to execute 
closing documents with respect to out-of-town real estate. 
Subsections (d) and (e) emphasize that even a termination event is not effective as to 
the agent or person who, without actual knowledge of the termination event, acts in good 
faith under the power of attorney. For example, the principal's death terminates a power 
of attorney (see subsection (a)(1)), but an agent who acts in good faith under a power of 
attorney without actual knowledge of the principal's death will bind the principal's 
successors in interest with that action (see subsection (d)). The same result is true if the 
agent knows of the principal's death, but the person who accepts the agent's apparent 
authority has no actual knowledge of the principal's death. See Restatement (Third) of 
Agency § 3.11 (2006) (stating that "termination of actual authority does not by itself end 
any apparent authority held by an agent"). See also Section 119(c) (stating that "[a] 
person that in good faith accepts an acknowledged power of attorney without actual 
knowledge that the power of attorney is ... terminated ... may rely upon the power of 
attorney as if the power of attorney were ... still in effect ... ,"). These concepts are also 
carried forward from the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act. See Unif. Durable 
Power Atty. Act § 4 (1987), 
Of special note in the list of termination events is subsection (b)(3) which provides 
that a spouse-agent's authority is revoked when an action is filed for the dissolution or 
annulment of the agent's marriage to the principal, or their legal separation. Although the 
filing of an action for dissolution or annulment might render a principal particularly 
vulnerable to self-interested actions by a spouse-agent, subsection (b)(3) is not mandatory 
and may be overridden in the power of attorney. There may be special circumstances 
precipitating the dissolution, such as catastrophic illness and the need for public benefits, 
that would prompt the principal to specify that the agent's authority continues 
notwithstanding dissolution, annulment or legal separation. 
Maine Comment 
Subsection (b)(4) adds as an event of termination of the agent's authority the 
termination, or commencement of termination, of a registered domestic partnership other 
than by marriage between the principal and agent. 
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§5-911. Coagents and successor agents 
(a). A principal may designate 2 or more persons to act as coagents. Unless the 
power of attorney otherwise provides, each coagent may exercise its authority 
independently. 
(b). A principal may designate one or more successor agents to act if an agent 
resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, is not qualified to serve or declines to serve. A 
principal may grant authority to designate one or more successor agents to an agent or 
other person designated by name, office or function. 
Unless the power of attorney 
otherwise provides, a successor agent: 
(1). Has the same authority as that granted to the original agent: and 
(2). 
May not act until all predecessor agents have resigned, died, become 
incapacitated, are no longer qualified to serve or have declined to serve. 
l3 
(c). Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney and subsection Cd), an 
agent that does not participate in or conceal a breach of fiduciary duty committed by 
another agent, including. a predecessor agent, is not liable for the actions of the other 
agent. 
(d). An agent that has actual knowledge of a breach or imminent breach of fiduciary 
duty by another agent shall notify the principal and, if the principal is incapacitated, take 
any action reasonably appropriate in the circumstances to safeguard the principal's best 
interest. An agent that fails to notify the principal or take action as required by this 
subsection is liable for the reasonably foreseeable damages that could have been avoided 
ifthe agent had notified the principal or taken such action. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section III of the UPOAA) 
This section provides several default rules that merit careful consideration by the 
principal. Subsection (a) states that if a principal names coagents, each co agent may 
exercise its authority independently unless otherwise directed in the power of attorney. 
The Act adopts this default position to discourage the practice of executing separate, co-
extensive powers of attorney in favor of different agents, and to facilitate transactions 
with persons who are reluctant to accept a power of attorney from only one of two or 
more named agents. This default rule should not, however, be interpreted as encouraging 
the practice of naming coagents. For a principal who can still monitor the activities of an 
agent, naming coagents multiplies monitoring responsibilities and significantly increases 
the risk that inconsistent actions will be taken with the principal's property. For the 
incapacitated principal, the risk is even greater that coagents will use the power of 
attorney to vie for control of the principal and the principal's property. Although the 
principal can override the default rule by requiring coagents to act by majority or 
unanimous consensus, such a requirement impedes use of the power of attorney, 
especially among agents who do not share close physical or philosophical proximity. A 
more prudent practice is generally to name one original agent and one or more successor 
agents. If desirable, a principal may give the original agent authority to delegate the 
agent's authority during periods when the agent is temporarily unavailable to serve (see 
Section 201 (a)(5)). 
. Subsection (b) states that unless a power of attorney otherwise provides, a successor 
agent has the same authority as that granted to the original agent. While this default 
provision ensures that the scope of authority granted to the original agent can be carried 
forward by successors, a principal may want to consider whether a successor agent is an 
appropriate person to exercise all of the authority given to the original agent. 
For 
example, authority to make gifts, to create, amend, or revoke an inter vivos trust, or to 
create or change survivorship and beneficiary designations (see Section 201(a)) may be 
0 
appropriate for a spouse-agent, but not for an adult child who is named as the successor 
agent. 
Subsection ( c) provides a default rule that an agent is not liable for the actions of 
another agent unless the agent participates in or conceals the breach of fiduciary duty 
committed by that other agent. Consequently, absent specification to the contrary in the 
power of attorney, an agent has no duty to monitor another agent's conduct. However, 
subsection (d) does require that an agent that has actual knowledge of a breach or 
imminent breach of fiduciary duty must notify the principal, and if the principal is 
incapacitated, take reasonably appropriate action to safeguard the principal's best interest. 
Subsection (d) provides that if an agent fails to notify the principal or to take action to 
safeguard the principal's best interest, that agent is only liable for the reasonably 
foreseeable damages that could have been avoided had the agent provided the required 
notification. 
§5-912. Reimbursement and compensation of agent 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, an agent is entitled to 
reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred on behalf of the principal and to 
compensation that is reasonable under the circumstances. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 112 of the UPOAA) 
This section provides a default rule that an agent is entitled to reimbursement of 
expenses reasonably incurred on behalf of the principal and to reasonable compensation. 
While it is unlikely that a principal would choose to alter the default rule as to expenses, a 
principal's circumstances may warrant including limitations in the power of attorney as to 
the categories of expenses the agent may incur; likewise, the principal may choose to 
specify the terms of compensation rather than leave that determination to a 
reasonableness standard. 
Although many family-member agents serve without 
compensation, payment of compensation to the agent may be advantageous to the 
principal in circumstances where the principal needs to spend down income or resources 
to meet qualifications for public benefits. 
) 
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§5-913. Agent's acceptance 
Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney, a person accepts appointment 
as an agent under a power of attorney by exercising authority or performing duties as an 
agent or by any other assertion or conduct indicating acceptance. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 113 of the UPOAA) 
This section establishes a default rule for agent acceptance of appointment under a 
power of attorney. Unless a different method is provided in the power of attorney, an 
agent's acceptance occurs upon exercise of authority, performance of duties, or any other 
assertion or conduct indicating acceptance. Acceptance is the critical reference point for 
conUl1encement of the agency relationship and the imposition of fiduciary duties (see 
Section 114(a)). Because a person may be unaware that the principal has designated the 
person as an agent in a power of attorney, clear demarcation of when an agency 
relationship commences is necessary to protect both the principal and the agent. See 
Karen E. Boxx, The Durable Power of Attorney's Place in the Family of Fiduciary 
Relationships, 36 Ga. L. Rev. 1, 41 (2001) (noting that "fiduciary duties should be 
imposed only to the extent the attorney-in-fact mows of the role, is able to accept 
responsibility, and afflITIlatively accepts"). The Act also provides a default method for 
agent resignation (see Section 118), which terminates the agency relationship (see Section 
O(b )(2)). 
§5-914. Agent's duties 
(a). Notwithstanding provisions in the power of attorney, an agent that has accepted 
appointment shall: 
(1). Act in accordance with the principal's reasonable expectations to the extent 
actually mown by the agent and otherwise in the principal's best interest; 
(2). Act in good faith; and 
(3). Act only within the scope of authority granted in the power of attorney. 
(b). 
Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney, an agent that has 
accepted appointment shall: 
(1). Act loyally for the principal's benefit; 
(2). Act so as not to create a conflict of interest that impairs the agent's ability to act 
impartially in the principal's best interest; 
(3). Act with the care, competence and diligence ordinarily exercised by agents in 
similar circumstances; 
(4). Keep a record of all receipts, disbursements and transactions made on behalf of 
the principal; 
(5). Cooperate with a person that has authority to make health care decisions for the 
principal to cam out the principal's reasonable expectations to the extent actually 
mown by the agent and, otherwise, act in the principal's best interest; and 
(6). Attempt to preserve the principal's estate plan, to the extent actually mown by 
the agent, if preserving the plan is consistent with the principal's best interest based 
on all relevant factors, including: 
(i) The value and nature of the principal's property; 
(ij) The principal's foreseeable obligations and need for maintenance; 
(iii) Minimization of taxes, including income, estate, inheritance, generation-
skipping transfer and gift taxes; and 
(iv) Eligibility for a benefit, a program or assistance under a statute, rule or 
regulation. 
(c). An agent that acts in good faith is not liable to any beneficiary of the principal's 
estate plan for failure to preserve the plan. 
(d). An agent that acts with care, competence and diligence for the best interest of 
the principal is not liable solely because the agent also benefits from the act or has an 
individual or conflicting interest in relation to the property or affairs of the principal. 
(e). If an agent is selected by the principal because of special skills or expertise 
possessed by the agent or in reliance on the agent's representation that the agent has 
special skills or expertise, the special skills or expertise must be considered in 
determining whether the agent has acted with care, competence and diligence under the 
circumstances. 
fO. Absent a breach of duty to the principal, an agent is not liable if the value of the 
principal's property declines. 
(g). An agent that exercises authority to delegate to another person the authority 
granted by the principal or that engages another person on behalf of the principal is not 
liable for an act, error of judgment or default of that person if the agent exercises care, 
competence and diligence in selecting and monitoring the person. 
(h). Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney, an agent is not required 
to disclose receipts, disbursements or transactions conducted on behalf of the principal 
unless ordered by a court or requested by the principal, a guardian, a conservator, another 
fiduciary acting for the principal, a governmental agency having authority to protect the 
welfare of the principal or, upon the death of the principal, by the personal representative 
or successor in interest of the principal's estate. If so requested, within 30 days the agent 
shall comply with the request or provide a writing or other record substantiating why 
additional time is needed and shall comply with the request within an additional 30 days. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 114 of the UPOAA) 
Although well settled that an agent under a power of attorney is a fiduciary, there is 
little clarity in state power of attomeystatutes about what that means. See generally 
Karen E. Boxx, The Durable Power of Attorney's Place in the Family of Fiduciary 
Relationships, 36 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2001); Carolyn L. Dessin, Acting as Agent under a 
Financial Durable Power of Attorney: An Unscripted Role, 75 Neb. L. Rev. 574 (1996). 
,) 
) 
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Among states that address agent duties, the standard of care varies widely and ranges 
from a due care standard (see, e.g., 755 TIL Compo Stat. Ann. 45/2-7 (West 1992); Ind. 
Code Ann. § 30-5-6-2 (West 1994» to a trustee-type standard (see, e.g., Fla. Stat. Ann. § 
709.08(8) (West 2000 & Supp. 2006); Mo. Ann. Stat. § 404.714 (West 2001». Section 
clarifies agent duties by articulating minimum mandatory duties (subsection (a» as 
well as default duties that can be modified or omitted by the principal (subsection (b». 
The mandatory duties-acting in accordance with the principal's reasonable 
expectations, if mown, and otherwise in the principal's best interest; acting in good faith; 
and acting only within the scope of authority granted-may not be altered in the power of 
attorney. Establishing the principal's reasonable expectations as the primary guideline for 
agent conduct is consistent with a policy preference for "substituted judgment" over "best 
interest" as the surrogate decision-making standard that better protects an incapacitated 
person's self-determination interests. See Wingspan-The Second National Guardianship 
Conference, Recommendations, 31 Stetson L. Rev. 595, 603 (2002). See also Unif. 
Guardianship & Protective Proc. Act § 314(a) (1997). 
The Act does not require, nor does common practice dictate, that the principal state 
expectations or obj ectives in the power of attorney. ill fact, one of the advantages of a 
power of attorney over a trust or guardianship is the flexibility and informality with 
which an agent may exercise authority and respond to changing circumstances. However, 
when a principal's subjective expectations are potentially inconsistent with an objective 
best interest standard, good practice suggests memorializing those expectations in a 
written and admissible form as a precaution against later challenges to the agent's conduct 
(see Section 116). 
If a principal's expectations potentially conflict with a default duty under the Act, 
then stating the expectations in the power of attorney, or altering the default rule to 
accommodate the expectations, or both, is advisable. For example, a principal may want 
to invest in a business owned by a family member who is also the agent in order to 
improve the economic position of the agent and the agent's family. 
Without the 
principal's clear expression of this objective, investment by the agent of the principal's 
property in the agent's business may be viewed as breaching the default duty to act 
loyally for the principal's benefit (subsection (b)(1» or the default duty to avoid conflicts 
of interest that impair the agent's ability to act impartially for the principal's best interest 
(subsection (b )(2». 
Two default duties in this section protect the principal's previously-expressed choices. 
These are the duty to cooperate with the person authorized to make health-care decisions 
for the principal (subsection (b)(5» and the duty to preserve the principal's estate plan 
(subsection (b)(6». However, an agent has a duty to preserve the principal's estate plan 
only to the extent the plan is actually mown to the agent and only if preservation of the 
estate plan is consistent with the principal's best interest. Factors relevant to determining 
whether preservation of the estate plan is in the principal's best interest include the value 
of the principal's property, the principal's need for maintenance, minimization of taxes, 
and eligibility for public benefits. The Act protects an agent from liability for failure to 
preserve the estate plan if the agent has acted in good faith (subsection (c». 
Subsection (d) provides that an agent acting with care, competence, and diligence for 
the best interest of the principal is not liable solely because the agent also benefits from 
the act or has a conflict of interest. This position is a departure from the traditional 
common law duty of loyalty which required an agent to act solely for the benefit of the 
principal. See Restatement, (Second) of Agency § 387 (1958); see also Unif. Trust Code 
§ 802(a) (2003) (requiring a trustee to administer a trust "solely in the interests" of the 
beneficiary). Subsection (d) is modeled after state statutes which provide that loyalty to 
the principal can be compatible with an incidental benefit to the agent. See Cal. Prob. 
Code § 4232(b) (West Supp. 2006); 755 Ill. Compo Stat. Ann. 45/2-7 (West 1992); Ind. 
Code Ann. § 30-5-9-2 (West 1994 & Supp. 2005). The Restatement (Third) of Agency § 
8.01 (2006) also contemplates that loyal service to the principal may be concurrently 
beneficial to the agent (see Reporter's note a). See also John H. Langbein, Questioning 
the Trust Law Duty of Loyalty: Sale Interest or Best Interest?, 114 Yale L.J. 929, 943 
(2005) (arguing that the sole interest test for loyalty should be replaced by the best 
interest test). 
The public policy which favors best interest over sole interest as the 
benchmark for agent loyalty comports with the practical reality that most agents under 
powers of attorney are family members who have inherent conflicts of interest with the 
principal arising from joint property ownership or inheritance expectations. 
Subsection (e) provides additional protection for a principal who has selected an 
agent with special skills or expertise by requiring that such skills or expertise be 
considered when evaluating the agent's conduct. If a principal chooses to appoint a 
family member or close friend to serve as an agent, but does not intend that agent to serve 
under a higher standard because of special skills or expertise, the principal should 
consider including an exoneration provision within the power of attorney (see comment 
to Section 115). 
Subsections (f) and (g) state protections for an agent that are similar in scope to those 
applicable to a trustee. Subsection (f) holds an agent harmless for decline in the value of 
the principal's property absent a breach of fiduciary duty (ef Unif. Trust Code § 1003(b) 
(2003)). Subsection (g) holds an agent harmless for the conduct of a person to whom the 
agent has delegated authority, or who has been engaged by the agent on the principal's 
behalf, provided the agent has exercised care, competence, and diligence in selecting and 
monitoring the person (ef Unif. Trust Code§ 807(c) (2003). 
Subsection (h) codifies the agent's common law duty to account to a principal (see 
Restatement (Third) of Agency § 8.12 (2006); Restatement (First) of Agency § 382 
(1933)). Rather than create an affirmative duty of periodic accounting, subsection (h) 
states that the agent is not required to disclose receipts, disbursements or transactions 
unless ordered by a court or requested by the principal, a fiduciary acting for the 
principal, or a governmental agency with authority to protect the welfare of the principal. 
If the principal is deceased, the principal's personal representative or successor in interest 
may request an agent to account. While there is no affirmative duty to account unless 
ordered by the court or requested by one of the foregoing persons, subsection (b)( 4) does 
create a default duty to keep records. 
The narrow categories of persons that may request an agent to account are consistent 
with the premise that a principal with capacity should control to whom the details of 
) 
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financial transactions are disclosed. If a principal becomes incapacitated or dies, then the 
principal's fiduciary or personal representative may succeed to that monitoring function. 
The inclusion of a governmental agency (such as Adult Protective Services) in the list of 
persons that may request an agent to account is patterned after state legislative trends and 
is a response to growing national concern about financial abuse of vulnerable persons. 
See 755 Ill. Compo Stat. Ann. 45/2-7.5 (West Supp. 2006 & 2006 Ill. Legis. Servo 1754); 
Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5604(d) (West 2005); Vt. Stat. Ann. tit.14, § 3510(b) (2002 & 
2006-3 Vt. Adv. Legis. Servo 228). See generally Donna J. Rabiner, David Brown & 
Janet OKeeffe, Financial Exploitation of Older Persons: 
Policy Issues and 
Recommendations for Addressing Them, 16 J. Elder Abuse & Neglect 65 (2004). As an 
additional protective counter-measure to the narrow categories of persons who may 
request an agent to account, the Act contains a broad standing provision for seeking 
judicial review of an agent's conduct. See Section 116 and Comment. 
§5-915. Exoneration of agent 
A provision in a power of attorney relieving an agent of liability for breach of duty is 
binding on the principal and the principal's successors in interest except to the extent the 
provision: 
(a). Relieves the agent of liability for breach of duty committed dishonestly, with an 
improper motive or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the power of attorney or 
the best interest of the principal: or 
(b). Was inserted as a result of an abuse of a confidential or fiduciary relationship 
with the principal. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 115 of the UPOAA) 
This section permits a principal to exonerate an agent from liability for breach of 
fiduciary duty, but prohibits exoneration for a breach committed dishonestly, with 
improper motive, or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the power of attorney or 
the best interest of the principal. The mandatory minimum standard of conduct required 
of an agent is equivalent to the good faith standard applicable to trustees. A trustee's 
failure to adhere to that standard cannot be excused by language in the trust instrument. 
See Unif. Trust Code § 1008 cmt. (2003) (noting that "a trustee must always act in good 
faith with regard to the purposes of the trust and the interests of the beneficiaries"). See 
also Section 102(4) (defining good faith for purposes of the Act as "honesty in fact"). 
Section 115 provides, as an additional measure of protection for the principal, that an 
exoneration provision is not binding if it was inserted as the result of abuse of a 
confidential or fiduciary relationship with the principal. While as a matter of good 
practice an exoneration provision should be the exception rather than the rule, its 
inclusion in a power of attorney may be useful in meeting particular objectives of the 
principal. For example, if the principal is concerned that contentious family members 
will attack the agent's conduct in order to gain control of the principal's assets, an 
exoneration provision may deter such action or minimize the likelihood of success on the 
merits. 
§5-916. Judicial relief 
(a). The following persons may petition the Probate Court or the Superior Court for 
the county in which either the principal or the agent resides to construe a power of 
attorney or review the agent's conduct and grant appropriate relief: 
(1). The principal or the agent; 
(2). A guardian, conservator or other fiduciary acting for the principat 
(3). A person authorized to make health care decisions for the principal; 
(4). The principal's spouse, registered domestic partner, parent or descendant; 
(5). An individual who would qualify as a presumptive heir of the principal; 
(6). A person named as a beneficiary to receive any property, benefit or contractual 
right on the principal's death or as a beneficiary of a trust created by or for the 
principal that has a financial interest in the principal's estate; 
(7). A governmental agency having regulatory authority to protect the welfare of the 
principal; 
(8). The principal's caregiver or another person that demonstrates sufficient interest 
in the principal's welfare; and 
(9). A person asked to accept the power of attorney. 
(b). Upon motion by the principal, the court shall dismiss a petition filed under this 
section, unless the court finds that the principal lacks capacity to revoke the agent's 
authority or the power of attorney. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 116 of the UPOAA) 
The primary purpose of this section is to protect vulnerable or incapacitated 
principals against financial abuse. Subsection (a) sets forth broad categories of persons 
who have standing to petition the court for construction of the power of attorney or 
review of the agent's conduct, including in the list a "person that demonstrates sufficient 
interest in the principal's welfare" (subsection (a)(8)). 
Allowing any person with 
sufficient interest to petition the court is the approach taken by the majority of states that 
have standing provisions. See Cal. Prob. Code § 4540 (West Supp. 2006); Colo. Rev. 
Stat. Ann. § 15-14-609 (West 2005); 755 m. Compo Stat. Ann. 4512-10 (West 1992); Ind. 
Code Ann. § 30-5-3-5 (West 1994); Kan. Stat. Ann.§ 58-662 (2005); Mo. Ann. Stat. § 
404.727 (West 2001); N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 506:7 (LexisNexis 1997 & Supp. 2005); 
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 11.94.100 (Supp. 2006); Wis. Stat. Ann. § 243.07(6r) (West 
2001). But cf 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5604 (West 2005) (limiting standing to an 
agency acting pursuant to the Older Adults Protective Services Act); Vt. Stat. Ann. tit.14, 
§ 351 O(b) (2002 & 2006-3 Vt. Adv. Legis. Servo 228) (limiting standing to the 
commissioner of disabilities, aging, and independent living). 
In addition to providing a means for detecting and redressing financial abuse by 
agents, this section protects the self-determination rights of principals. Subsection (b) 
) 
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states that the court must dismiss a petition upon the principal's motion unless the court 
finds that the principal lacks the capacity to revoke the agent's authority or the power of 
attorney. Contrasted with the breadth of Section 116 is Section 114(h) which narrowly 
limits the persons who can request an agent to account for transactions conducted on the 
principal's behalf. The rationale for narrowly restricting who may request an agent to 
account is the preservation of the principal's financial privacy. 
See Section 114 
Comment. Section 116 operates as a check-and-balance on the narrow scope of Section 
114(h) and provides what, in many circumstances, may be the only means to detect and 
stop agent abuse of an incapacitated principal. 
§5-917. Agent's liability 
An agent that violates this chapter is liable to the principal or the principal's 
successors in inieresi for ihe amouni required io: 
(a). Restore the value of the principal's property to what it would have been had the 
violation not occurred; and 
(b). 
Reimburse the principal or the principal's successors in interest for the 
attorney's fees and costs paid on the agent's behalf. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 117 of the UPOAA) 
This section provides that an agent's liability for violating the Act includes not only 
the amount necessary to restore the principal's property to what it would have been had 
the violation not occurred, but also any amounts for attorney's fees and costs advanced 
from the principal's property on the agent's behalf. This section does not, however, limit 
the agent's liability exposure to these amounts. Pursuant to Section 123, remedies under 
the Act are not exclusive. If a jurisdiction has enacted separate statutes to deal with 
financial abuse, an agent may face additional civil or criminal liability. For a discussion 
of state statutory responses to financial abuse, see Carolyn L. Dessin, Financial Abuse of 
the Elderly: Is the Solution a Problem?, 34 McGeorge L. Rev. 267 (2003). 
§5-918. Agent's resignation; notice 
Unless the power of attorney provides a different method for an agent's resignation, 
an agent may resign by giving notice to the principal and, if the prinCipal is incapacitated: 
(a). To the conservator or guardian, if one has been appointed for the principal, and a 
coagent or successor agent; or 
(b). If there is no person described in subsection (a), to: 
(1). The principal's caregiver; 
(2). Another person reasonably believed by the agent to have sufficient interest in the 
principal's welfare; or 
(3). A governmental agency having authority to protect the welfare of the principal. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 118 of the UPOAA) 
Section 118 provides a default procedure for an agent's resignation. An agent who no 
longer wishes to serve should formally resign in order to establish a clear demarcation of 
the end of the agent's authority and to minimize gaps in fiduciary responsibility before a 
successor accepts the office. If the principal still has capacity when the agent wishes to 
resign, this section requires only that the agent give notice to the principal. If, however, 
the principal is incapacitated, the agent must, in addition to giving notice to the principal, 
give notice as set forth in paragraphs (1) or (2). 
Paragraph (1) provides that notice must be given to a fiduciary, if one has been 
appointed, and to a coagent or successor agent, if any. If the principal does not have an 
appointed fiduciary and no coagent or successor agent is named in the power of attorney, 
then the agent may choose among the notice options in paragraph (2). Paragraph (2) 
permits the resigning agent to give notice to the principal's caregiver, a person reasonably 
believed to have sufficient interest in the principal's welfare, or a governmental agency 
having authority to protect the welfare of the principal. The choice among these options 
is intentionally left to the agent's discretion and is governed by the same standards as 
apply to other agent conduct. See Section 114(a) (requiring the agent to act in accordance 
with the principal's reasonable expectations, if lmown, and otherwise in the principal's 
best interest). 
§5-919. Acceptance of and reliance upon acknowledged power of attorney 
(a). 
For purposes of this section and section 5-920, "aclmowledged" means 
purportedly verified before a notary public or other individual authorized to take 
aclmow ledgements. 
(b). A person that in good faith accepts an aclmowledged power of attorney without 
actuallmowledge that the signature is not genuine may rely upon the presumption under 
section 5-905 that the signature is genuine. 
(c). A person that in good faith accepts an aclmowledged power of attorney without 
actual lmowledge that the power of attorney is void, invalid or terminated, that the 
purported agent's authority is void, invalid or terminated or that the agent is exceeding or 
improperly exercising the agent's authority may rely upon the power of attorney as if the 
power of attorney were genuine, valid and still in effect, the agent's authority were 
. 
genuine, valid and still in effect and the agent had not exceeded and had properly 
exercised the authority. 
(d). A person that is asked to accept an aclmowledged power of attorney may 
request, and rely upon, without further investigation: 
(1). 
An agent's certification under penalty of peIjury of any factual matter 
concerning the principal, agent or power of attorney; 
(2). An English translation of the power of attorney if the power of attorney contains, 
in whole or in part, language other than English; and 
) 
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(3). An opinion of counsel as to any matter of law concerning the power of attorney 
if the person making the request provides in a writing or other record the reason for 
the request. 
(e). An English translation or an opinion of counsel requested under this section must 
be provided at the principal's expense unless the request is made more than 7 business 
days after the power of attorney is presented for acceptance. 
ill. For purposes of this section and section 5-920, a person that conducts activities 
through employees is without actual knowledge of a fact relating to a power of attorney, a 
principal or an agent if the employee conducting the transaction involving the power of 
attorney is without actual knowledge of the fact. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 119 of the UPOAA) 
This section protects persons who in good faith accept an acknowledged power of 
attorney. Section 119 does not apply to unacknowledged powers of attorney. See Section 
(providing that the signature on a power of attorney is presumed genuine if 
acknowledged). Subsection (a) states that for purposes of this section and Section 120 
"acknowledged" means "purportedly" verified before an individual authorized to take 
acknowledgments. The purpose of this definition is to protect a person that in good faith 
accepts an acknowledged power of attorney without knowledge that it contains a forged 
signature or a latent defect in the acknowledgment. 
See, e.g., Cal. Prob. Code § 
4303(a)(2) (West Supp. 2006); 755 Ill. Compo Stat. Ann. 45/2-8 (Supp. 2006); Ind. Code 
Ann. § 30-5-8-2 (West 1994); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 32A-40 (2005). The Act places the risk 
that a power of attorney is invalid upon the principal rather than the person that accepts 
the power of attorney. This approach promotes acceptance of powers of attorney, which 
is essential to their effectiveness as an alternative to guardianship. The national survey 
conducted by the Joint Editorial Board for Unifonn Trust and Estate Acts (see Prefatory 
Note) found that a majority of respondents had difficulty obtaining acceptance of powers 
of attorney. 
Sixty-three percent reported occasional difficulty and seventeen percent 
reported frequent difficulty. Linda S. Whitton, National Durable Power of Attorney 
Survey Results and Analysis, National Conference of Commissioners on Unifonn State 
Laws 
12-13 
(2002), 
available 
at 
http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/dpoaa/surveyoct2002.htm. 
Section 119 permits a person to rely in good faith on the validity of the power of 
attorney, the validity of the agent's authority, and the propriety of the agent's exercise of 
authority, unless the person has actual knowledge to the contrary (subsection (c)). 
Although a person is not required to investigate whether a power of attorney is valid or 
the agent's exercise of authority proper, subsection (d) permits a person to request an 
agent's certification of any factual matter (see Section 302 for a sample certification form) 
and an opinion of counsel as to any matter of law. If the power of attorney contains, in 
whole or part, language other than English, an English translation may also be requested. 
Further protection is provided in subsection (f) for persons that conduct activities through 
employees. Subsection (f) states that for purposes. of Sections 119 and 120, a person is 
without actual knowledge of a fact if the employee conducting the transaction is without 
actual know ledge of the fact. 
§5-920. Liability for refusal to accept acknowledged power of attorney 
(a). Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b): 
0). A person shall either accept an aclmowledged power of attorney or request a 
certification, a translation or an opinion of counsel under section 5-919, subsection 
(d) no later than 7 business days after presentation of the power of attorney for 
acceptance; 
(2). If a person requests a certification, a translation or an opinion of counsel under 
section 5-919, subsection (d), the person shall accept the power of attorney no later 
than 5 business days after receipt of the certification, translation or opinion of 
counsel; and 
(3). A person may not require an additional or different form of power of attorney for 
authority granted in the power of attorney presented. 
(b). A person is not required to accept an aclmowledged power of attorney if: 
0). The person is not otherwise required to engage in a transaction with the principal 
in the same circumstances; 
(2). 
Engaging in a transaction with the agent or the principal in the same 
circumstances would be inconsistent with federal law; 
(3). The person has actuallmowledge of the termination of the agent's authority or of 
the power of attorney before exercise of the power; 
(4). A request for a certification, a translation or an opinion of counsel under section 
5-919, subsection (d) is refused; 
(5). The person in good faith believes that the power is not valid or that the agent 
does not have the authority to perform the act requested, whether or not a 
certification, a translation or an opinion of counsel under section 5-919, subsection 
(d) has been requested or provided; or 
(6). The person makes, or has actual lmowledge that another person has made, a 
report to the Department of Heath and Human Services stating a good faith belief that 
the principal may be subject to physical or [mancial abuse, neglect, exploitation or 
abandonment by the agent or a person acting for or with the agent. 
ec). A person that refuses in violation of this section to accept an aclmowledged 
power of attorney is subject to: 
(1). A court order mandating acceptance of the power of attorney; and 
(2). 
Liability for reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in any action or 
proceeding that confirms the validity of the power of attorney or mandates 
acceptance of the power of attorney. 
Uniform Comment to Alternative A 
(This is Section 120 of the UPOAA) 
') 
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As a complement to Section 119, Section 120 enumerates the bases for legitimate 
refusals of a power of attorney as well as sanctions for refusals that violate the Act. Like 
Section 119, Section 120 does not apply to unacknowledged powers of attorney. 
Enacting jurisdictions are provided a choice between alternative Sections 120. 
Alternatives A . and B are identical except that Alternative B applies only to 
acknowledged statutory form powers of attorney while Alternative A applies to all 
acknowledged powers of attorney. 
Subsection (b) of Alternative A provides the bases upon which an acknowledged 
power of attorney may be refused without liability. The last paragraph of subsection (b) 
permits refusal of an otherwise valid acknowledged power of attorney that does not meet 
any of the other bases for refusal if the person in good faith believes that the principal is 
subject to abuse by the agent or someone acting in concert with the agent (paragraph (6)). 
A refusal under this paragraph is protected if the person makes, or knows another person 
has made, a report to the governmental agency authorized to protect the welfare of the 
principal. Pennsylvania has a similar provision. See 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5608(a) 
(West 2005). 
Unless a basis exists in subsection (b) for refusing an acknowledged power of 
attorney, subsection (a) requires that, within seven business days after the power of 
attorney is presented, a person must either accept the power of attorney or request a 
certification, a translation, or an opinion of counsel pursuant to Section 119. If a request 
under Section 119 is made, the person must decide to accept or reject the power of 
attorney no later than five business days after receipt of the requested document 
(subsection (a)(2)). 
Provided no basis exists for refusing the power of attorney, 
subsection (a)(3) prohibits a person from requesting an additional or different form of 
power of attorney for authority granted in the power of attorney presented. 
Subsection (c) of Alternative A provides that a person that refuses an acknowledged 
power of attorney in violation of Section 120 is subject to a court order mandating 
acceptance and to reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in the action to confirm 
the validity of the power of attorney or to mandate acceptance. Statutory liability for 
unreasonable refusal of a power of attorney is based on a growing state legislative trend. 
See, e.g., Alaska .Stat. § 13.26.353(c) (2004); Cal. Prob. Code § 4306(a) (West Supp. 
2006); Fla. Stat. Ann. § 709.08(11) (West 2000 & Supp. 2006); 755 Ill. Compo Stat. Ann. 
45/2-8 (West 1992); Ind. Code Ann. § 30-5-9-9 (West Supp. 2005); Minn. Stat. Ann. § 
523.20 (West 2006); N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-1504 (McKinney 2001); N.C. Gen. Stat. 
§ 32A-41 (2005); 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5608 (West 2005); S.C. Code Ann. § 62-5-
501(F)(1) (Supp. 2005). 
Maine Comment 
Maine uses Alternative A. 
§5-921. Principles of law and equity 
Unless displaced by a provision of this Part, the principles of law and equity 
supplement this Part. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 121 of the UPOAA) 
The Act is supplemented by common law, including the common law of agency, 
where provisions of the Act do not displace relevant common law principles. 
The 
common law of agency is articulated in the Restatement of Agency and includes 
contemporary and evolving rules of decision developed by. the courts in exercise of their 
power to adapt the law to new situations and changing conditions. The common law also 
includes the traditional and broad equitable jurisdiction of the court, which this Act in no 
way restricts. 
The statutory text of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act is also supplemented by 
these comments, which, like the comments to any Uniform Act, may be relied on as a 
guide for interpretation. See Acierno v. Worthy Bros. Pipeline Corp., 656 A.2d 1085, 
1090 (Del. 1995) (interpreting Uniform Commercial Code); Yale University v. 
Blumenthal, 621 A.2d 1304, 1307 (Conn. 1993) (interpreting Uniform Management of 
Institutional Funds Act); 2B Norman Singer, Southerland Statutory Construction § 52.5 
(6th ed. 2000). 
§5-922. Laws applicable to financial institutions and entities 
This Part does not supersede any other law applicable to financial institutions or other 
entities, and the other law controls if inconsistent with this Part. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 122 of the UPOAA) 
This section addresses concerns of representatives from the banking and insurance 
industries that there may be regulations which govern those entities that conflict with 
provisions of this Act. Although no specific conflicts were identified during the drafting 
process, Section 122 provides that in the event a law applicable to a financial institution 
or other entity is inconsistent with this Act, the other law will supersede this Act to the 
extent of the inconsistency. This concern about inconsistency with the requirements of 
other law is already substantially addressed in Section 120, which provides, in pertinent 
part, that a person is not required to accept a power of attorney if, "the person is not 
otherwise required to engage in a transaction with the principal in the same 
circumstances," or "engaging in a transaction with the agent or the principal in the same 
circumstances would be inconsistent with federal law ." 
§5-923. R.emedies under other law 
The remedies under this Part are not exclusive and do not abrogate any right or 
remedy under the law of this State other than this Part. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 123 of the UPOAA) 
The remedies under the Act are not intended to be exclusive with respect to causes of 
action that may accrue in relation to a power of attorney. The Act applies to many persons, 
individual and entity (see Section 102(6) (defining "person" for purposes of the Act», that 
may serve as agents or that may be asked to accept a power of attorney. Likewise, the Act 
-) 
) 
) 
(~'1 
, 
i 
( 
applies to many subject areas (see Article 2) over which principals may delegate authority to 
agents. Remedies under other laws which govern such persons and subject matters should be 
considered by aggrieved parties in addition to remedies available under this Act. See, e.g., 
Section 117 Comment. 
SUBPART 2 
AUTHORITY 
§5-931. Authority that requires specific grant; grant of general authority 
(a). An agent under a power of attorney may do the following on behalf of the 
principal or with the principal's property only if the power of attorney expressly grants 
the agent the authority and exercise of the authority is not otherwise prohibited by another 
agreement or instrument to which the authority or property is subject: 
0). Create, amend, revoke or terminate an inter vivos trust; 
(2). Make a gift; 
(3). Create or change rights of survivorship; 
(4). Create or change a beneficiary designation; 
(5). Delegate authority granted under the power of attorney; 
(6). Waive the principal's right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, 
including a survivor benefit under a retirement plan; 
(7). Exercise fiduciary powers that the principal has authority to delegate; or 
(8). Disclaim property, including a power of appointment. 
(b). Notwithstanding a grant of authority to do an act described in subsection (a), 
unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, an agent that is not an ancestor, spouse, 
registered domestic partner or descendant of the principal may not exercise authority 
under a power of attorney to create in the agent, or in an individual to whom the agent 
owes a legal obligation of support, an interest in the principal's property, whether by gift, 
right of survivorship, beneficiary designation, disclaimer or otherwise. 
(c). Subject to subsections (a), (b), (d) and (e), if a power of attorney grants to an 
agent authority to do all acts that a principal could do, the agent has the general authority 
described in sections 5-934 through 5-946. 
(d). Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, a grant of authority to make a 
gift is subject to section 5-947. 
(e). Subject to subsections (a), (b) and (d), if the subjects over which authority is 
granted in a power of attorney are similar or overlap, the broadest authority controls. 
(fl. Authority granted in a power of attorney is exercisable with respect to property 
that the principal has when the power of attorney is executed or acquires later, whether or 
not the property is located in this State and whether or not the authority is exercised or the 
power of attorney is executed in this State. 
(g). An act perfonned by an agent pursuant to a power of attorney has the same 
effect and inures to the benefit of and binds the principal and the principal's successors in 
interest as if the principal had perfonned the act. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 201 of the UPOAA) 
This section distinguishes between grants of specific authority that require express 
language in a power of attorney and grants of general authority. 
Section 201(a) 
enumerates the acts that require an express grant of specific authority and which may not 
be inferred from a grant of general authority. This approach follows a growing trend 
among states to require express specific authority for such actions as making a gift, 
creating or revoking a trust, and using other non-probate estate planning devices such as 
survivorship interests and beneficiary designations. See, e.g., Cal. Prob. Code § 4264 
(West Supp. 2006); Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-654(f) (2005); Mo. Ann. Stat. § 404.710 (West 
2001); Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 11.94.050 (West Supp. 2006). 
The rationale for 
requiring a grant of specific authority to perfonn the acts enumerated in subsection (a) is 
the risk those acts pose to the principal's property and estate plan. Although risky, such 
authority may nevertheless be necessary to effectuate the principal's property 
management and estate planning objectives. Ideally, these are matters about which the 
principal will seek advise before granting authority to an agent. 
The Act does not contain statutory construction language for any of the acts 
enumerated in subsection (a) other than the making of gifts (see Section 217). Because a 
gift of the principal's property reduces the principal's estate, the Act, like a number of 
state statutes, sets default per-donee limits on gift amounts. See, e.g., N.Y. Gen. Oblig. 
Law § 5-1502M (McKinney 2001); 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5603(a)(2)(ii) (West 2005). 
However, as with any authority incorporated by reference in a power of attorney, the 
principal may enlarge or restrict the default parameters set by the Act. 
With respect to other acts listed in Section 201 (a), the Act contemplates that the 
principal will specify any special instructions in the power of attorney to further define or 
limit the authority granted. For example, if a principal grants authority to create or 
change rights of survivorship (subsection (a)(3)) or beneficiary designations (subsection 
(a)( 4)) the principal may choose to restrict that authority to specifically identified 
property interests, accounts, or contracts. Principals should carefully consider not only 
whether to authorize any of the acts listed in Section 201(a), but also whether to limit the 
scope of such actions. 
Subsection (b) contains an additional safeguard for the principal. It establishes as a 
default rule that an agent who is not an ancestor, spouse, or descendant of the principal 
may not exercise authority to create in the agent or in an individual the agent is legally 
obligated to support, an interest in the principal's property. For example, a non-relative 
agent with gift making authority could not make a gift to the agent or a dependant of the 
agent without the principal's express authority in the power of attorney. In contrast, a 
spouse-agent with express gift-making authority could implement the principal's 
expectation that annual family gifts be continued without additional authority in the 
power of attorney. 
) 
) 
) 
(~) 
"",",--",' 
Notwithstanding a grant of authority to perfonn any of the enumerated acts in 
subsection (a), an agent is bound by the mandatory fiduciary duties set forth in Section 
114(a) as well as the default duties that the principal has not modified. For a list of these 
default rules, see Section 301 Comment. 
If the principal's expectations for the 
perfonnance of authorized acts potentially conflict with those duties, then clarification of 
the principal's expectations, modification of the default duties, or both, may be advisable. 
See Section 114 Comment. 
Authority for acts and subject matters other than those listed in Section 201 (a) may 
be granted either through incorporation by reference (see Section 202) or, if the principal 
wishes to grant comprehensive general authority, by a grant of authority to do all the acts 
that a principal could do. A broad grant of general authority is interpreted under the Act 
as including all of the subject matters and authority described in Sections 204 through 
(see subsection (c». 
§5-932. Incorporation of authority 
Ca). An agent has authority described in this subpart ifthe power of attorney refers to 
general authority with respect to the descriptive tenn for the subjects stated in sections 
5-934 through 5-947 or cites the section in which the authority is described. 
Cb). A reference in a power of attorney to general authority with respect to the 
descriptive tenn for a subject in sections 5-934 through 5-947 or a citation to a section of 
sections 5-934 through 5-947 incorporates the entire section as if it were set out in full in 
the power of attorney. 
Cc). A principal may modify authority incorporated by reference. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section'202 of the UPOAA) 
This section provides two methods for incorporating into a power of attorney the 
Act's statutory construction for authority over various subject matters. A reference in a 
power of attorney to the descriptive tenn for a subject in Sections 204 through 217, or to 
the section number, incorporates the entire statutory section as if it were set out in full in 
the power of attorney. Subsection (c) provides that a principal may modify any authority 
incorporated by reference. The optional statutory fonn power of attorney provided in 
Section 301 uses the descriptive tenns in Sections 204 through 217 to incorporate 
statutory construction for authority granted on the fonn and provides a "Special 
Instructions" section where the principal may modify any authority incorporated by 
reference. 
§5-933. Construction of authority generally 
Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney, by executing a power of 
attorney that incorporates by reference a subject described in sections 5-934 through 
5-947 or that grants to an agent authority to do all acts that a principal could do pursuant 
to section 5-931, subsection (c), a principal authorizes the agent, with respect to that 
subject, to: 
(a). Demand, receive and obtain by litigation or otherwise, money or another thing of 
value to which the principal is, may become or claims to be entitled and conserve, invest, 
disburse or use anything so received or obtained for the purposes intended; 
(b). Contract in any manner with any person, on terms agreeable to the agent, to 
accomplish a purpose of a transaction and perfonn,rescind, cancel, terminate, reform, 
restate, release or modify the contract or another contract made by or on behalf of the 
principal; 
(e). 
Execute, aclmowledge, seal, deliver, file or record any instrument or 
communication the agent considers desirable to accomplish a purpose of a transaction, 
including creating at any time a schedule listing some or all of the principal's property 
and attaching it to the power of attorney; 
(d). Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to a claim existing in favor of or against the 
principal or intervene in litigation relating to the claim; 
(e). Seek on the principal's behalf the assistance of a court or other governmental 
agency to carry out an act authorized in the power of attorney; 
m. 
Engage, compensate and discharge an attorney, accountant, discretionary 
investment manager, expert witness or other advisor; 
(g). Prepare, execute and file a record, report or other document to safeguard or 
promote the principal's interest under a statute, rule or regulation; 
(h). 
Communicate with any representative or employee of a government or 
governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality on behalf of the principal; 
(i). 
Access communications intended for and communicate· on behalf of the 
principal, whether by mail, electronic transmission, telephone or other means; and 
<D. Do any lawful act with respect to the subject and all property related to the 
subject.· 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 203 of the UPOAA) 
This section is based on Section 3 of the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney 
Act. It describes incidental types of authority that accompany all authority granted to an 
agent under each of Sections 204 through 217, unless this incidental authority is modified 
in the power of attorney. The actions authorized in Section 203 are of the type often 
necessary for the exercise or implementation of authority over the subjects described in 
Sections 204 through 217. See Unif. Statutory Form Power of Atty. Act prefatory note 
(1988). Paragraph (10), which states that an agent is authorized to "do any lawful act 
with respect to the subject and all property related to the subject," emphasizes that a grant 
of general authority is intended to be comprehensive unless otherwise limited by the Act 
or the power of attorney. Paragraphs (8) and (9) were added to the section to clarify that 
this comprehensive authority includes authorization to communicate with government 
,) 
) 
) 
() 
" 
(, 
employees on behalf of the principal, to access communications intended for the 
principal, and to communicate on behalf of the principal using all modern means of 
communication. 
§5-934. Real property 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to real property authorizes the agent to: 
(a). Demand, buy, lease, receive, accept as a gift or as security for an extension of 
credit or otherwise acquire or reject an interest in real property or a right incident to real 
property; 
(b). Sell; exchange; convey with or 'Nithout covenants, representations or warranties; 
quitclaim; release; surrender; retain title for security; encumber; partition; consent to 
partitioning; subject to an easement or covenant; subdivide; apply for zoning or other 
governmental permits; plat or consent to platting; develop; grant an option concerning; 
lease; sublease; contribute to an entity in exchange for an interest in that entity; or 
otherwise grant or dispose of an interest in real property or a right incident to real 
property; 
(e). Pledge or mortgage an interest in real property or right incident to real property 
as security to borrow money or pay, renew or extend the time of payment of a debt of the 
principal or a debt guaranteed by the principal; 
(d). Release, assign, satisfy or enforce by litigation or otherwise a mortgage, deed of 
trust, conditional sale contract, encumbrance, lien or other claim to real property that 
exists or is asserted; 
(e). Manage or conserve an interest in real property or a right incident to real 
property owned or claimed to be owned by the principal, including: 
(1). Insuring against liability or casualty or other loss; 
(2). 
Obtaining or regaining possession of or protecting the interest or right by, 
litigation or otherwise; 
(3). Paying, assessing, compromising or contesting taxes or assessments or applying 
' 
for and receiving refunds in connection with them; and 
(4). Purchasing supplies, hiring assistance or labor and making repairs or alterations 
to the real property; 
m. 
Use, develop, alter, replace, remove, erect or install structures or other 
improvements upon real property in or incident to which the principal has, or claims to 
have, an interest or right; 
(g). Participate in a reorganization with respect to real property or an entity that owns 
an interest in or right incident to real property and receive; hold and act with respect to 
stocks and bonds or other property received in a plan of reorganization, including: 
(1). Selling or otherwise disposing of them; 
(2). Exercising or selling an option, right of conversion or similar right with respect 
to them; and 
(3). Exercising any voting rights in person or by proxy; 
(h). Change the fonn of title of an interest in or right incident to real property; and 
(i). Dedicate to public use, with or without consideration, easements or other real 
property in which the principal has, or claims to have, an interest. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 204 of the UPOAA) 
§5-935. Tangible personal property 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to tangible personal property authorizes the agent 
to: 
(a). Demand, buy, receive, accept as a gift or as security for an extension of credit or 
otherwise acquire or reject ownership or possession of tangible personal property or an 
interest in tangible personal property; 
(b). Sell; exchange; convey with or without covenants, representations or warranties; 
quitclaim; release; surrender; create a security interest in; grant options concerning; lease; 
sublease; or otherwise dispose of tangible personal property or an interest in tangible 
personal property; 
(e). Grant a security interest in tangible personal property or an interest in tangible 
personal property as security to borrow money or pay, renew or extend the time of 
payment of a debt of the principal or a debt guaranteed by the principal; 
(d). Release, assign, satisfy or enforce by litigation or otherwise a security interest, 
lien or other claim on behalf of the principal with respect to tangible personal property or 
an interest in tangible personal property; 
(e). Manage or conserve tangible personal property or an interest in tangible personal 
property on behalf of the principal, including: 
(1). Insuring against liability or casualty or other loss; 
(2). Obtaining or regaining possession of or protecting the property or interest by 
litigation or otherwise; 
(3). Paying, assessing, compromising or contesting taxes or assessments or applying 
for and receiving refunds in connection with them; 
(4). Moving the property from place to place; 
(5). Storing the property for hire or on a gratuitous bailment; 
(6). Using and making repairs, alterations or improvements to the property; and 
(7). Changing the fonn of title of an interest in tangible personal property. 
) 
) 
) 
(~"') 
\ 
/ 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 205 of the UPOAA) 
§5-936. Stocks and bonds 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to stocks and bonds authorizes the agent to: 
(a). Buy, sell and exchange stocks and bonds; 
(b). Establish, continue, modify or terminate an account with respect to stocks and 
bonds; . 
(el. Pledge stocks and bonds as security to borrow, pay, renew or extend the time of 
payment of a debt of the principal; 
(d). Receive certificates and other evidences of ownership with respect to stocks and 
bonds; and 
(e). Exercise voting rights with respect to stocks and bonds in person or by proxy, 
enter into voting trusts and consent to limitations on the right to vote. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 206 of the UPOAA) 
The substance of this section remains unchanged from Section 6 the Uniform 
Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act; however, the wording is revised to reflect that 
"stocks and bonds" is now a defined term in the Act. See Section 102(14). 
§5-937. Commodities and options 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to commodities and options authorizes the agent 
to: 
(a). Buy, sell, exchange, assign, settle and exercise commodity futures contracts and 
call or put options on stocks or stock indexes traded on a regulated option exchange; and 
(b). Establish, continue, modify and terminate option accounts. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 207 of the UPOAA) 
§5-938. Banks and other financial institutions 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to banks and other financial institutions authorizes 
the agent to: 
. (a). Continue, modify and terminate an account or other banking arrangement made 
by or on behalf of the principal; 
(b). Establish, modify and terminate an account or other banking arrangement with a 
bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, thrift company, 
brokerage firm or other financial institution selected by the agent; 
(c). Contract for services available from a financial institution, including renting a 
safe deposit box or space in a vault; 
(d). Withdraw, by check, order, electronic funds transfer or otherwise, money or 
property of the principal deposited with or left in the custody of a financial institution; 
(e). Receive statements of account, vouchers, notices and similar documents from a 
financial institution and act with respect to them; 
m. Enter a safe deposit box or vault and withdraw or add to the contents; 
(g). 
Borrow money and pledge as. security personal property of the principal 
necessary to borrow money or pay, renew or extend the time of payment of a debt of the 
principal or a debt guaranteed by the principal; 
(h). Make, assign, draw, endorse, discount, guarantee and negotiate promissory 
notes, checks, drafts and other negotiable or nonnegotiable paper of the principal or 
payable to the principal or the principal's order, transfer money, receive the cash or other 
proceeds of those transactions and accept a draft drawn by a person upon the principal 
and pay it when due; 
<n. Receive for the principal and act upon a sight draft, warehouse receipt or other 
document of title, whether tangible or electronic, or other negotiable or nonnegotiable 
instrument; 
(j). Apply for, receive and use letters of credit, credit and debit cards, electronic 
transaction authorizations and traveler's checks from a financial institution and give an 
indemnity or other agreement in connection with letters of credit; and 
(k). Consent to an extension of the time of payment with respect to commercial 
paper or a financial transaction with a fmancial institution. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 208 of the UPOAA) 
§5-939. Operation of entity or business 
Subject to the terms of a document or an agreement governing an entity or an entity 
ownership interest, and unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a 
power of attorney granting general authority with respect to operation of an entity or 
business authorizes the agent to: 
(a). Operate, buy, sell, enlarge, reduce or terminate an ownership interest; 
(b). Perform a duty or discharge a liability and exercise in person or by proxy a right, 
power, privilege or option that the principal has, may have or claims to have; 
) 
) 
) 
(-"j 
' 
, 
~ 
(e). Enforce the tenns of an ownership agreement; 
(d). Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to which the principal is a party 
because of an ownership interest; 
(e). Exercise in person or by proxy, or enforce by litigation or otherwise, a right, 
power, privilege or option the principal has or claims to have as the holder of stocks and 
bonds; 
(fl. Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to which the principal is a party 
concerning stocks and bonds; 
(g). With respect to an entity or business owned solely by the principal: 
(1). Continue, modify, renegotiate, extend and terminate a contract made by or on 
behalf of the principal with respect to the entity or business before execution of the 
power of attorney; 
(2). Determine: 
en The location of its operation; 
Oi) The nature and extent of its business; 
(iii) 
The methods of manufacturing, selling, merchandising, financing, 
accounting and advertising employed in its operation; 
(iv) The amount and types of insurance carried; and 
(v) The mode of engaging, compensating and dealing with its employees and 
accountants, attorneys or other advisors; 
(3). Change the name or fonn of organization under which the entity or business is 
operated and enter into an ownership agreement with other persons to take over all or 
part of the operation of the entity or business; and 
(4). Demand and receive money due or claimed by the principal or on the principal's 
behalf in the operation of the entity or business and control and disburse the money in 
the operation of the entity or business; 
(h). Put additional capital into an entity or business in which the principal has an 
interest; 
(i). Join in a plan of reorganization, consolidation, conversion, domestication or 
merger of the entity or business; 
(j). Sell or liquidate all or part of an entity or business; 
(k). Establish the value of an entity or business under a buy-out agreement to which 
the principal is a party; 
(I). Prepare, sign, file and deliver reports, compilations of information, returns or 
other papers with respect to an entity or business and make related payments; and 
(m). Pay, compromise or contest taxes, assessments, fines or penalties and perform 
any other act to protect the principal from illegal or unnecessary taxation, assessments, 
fines or penalties, with respect to an entity or business, including attempts to recover, in 
any manner permitted by law, money paid before or after the execution of the power of 
attorney. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 209 of the UPOAA) 
The substance of this section remains unchanged from Section 9 of the Uniform 
Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act; however, the wording is updated to encompass all 
modem business and entity forms, including limited liability companies, limited liability 
partnerships, and entities that may be organized other than for a business purpose. 
§5-940. Insurance and annuities 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to insurance and annuities authorizes the agent to: 
(a). 
Continue, pay the premium or make a contribution on, modify, exchange, 
8 
rescind, release or terminate a contract procured by or on behalf of the principal that 
insures or provides an annuity to either the principal or another person, whether or not the 
principal is a beneficiary under the contract; 
(b). Procure new, different and additional contracts of insurance and annuities for the 
principal and the principal's spouse, registered domestic partner, children and other 
dependents and select the amount, type of insurance or annuity and mode of payment; 
. (c). Pay the premium or make a contribution on, modify, exchange, rescind, release 
or terminate a contract of insurance or annuity procured by the agent; 
(d)~ Apply for and receive a loan secured by a contract of insurance or annuity; 
(e). Surrender and receive the cash surrender value on a contract of insurance or 
annuity; 
ill. Exercise an election; 
(g). Exercise investment powers available under a contract of insurance or annuity; 
(b). Change the manner of paying premiums on a contract of insurance or annuity; 
(i). Change or convert the type of insurance or annuity with respect to which the 
principal has or claims to have authority described in this section; 
(j). Apply for and procure a benefit or assistance under a statute or regulation to 
guarantee or pay premiums of a contract of insurance on the life of the principal; 
) 
) 
') 
(-'" ) 
(k). Collect, sell, assign, hypothecate, borrow against or pledge the interest of the 
principal in a contract of insurance or annuity; 
(I). 
Select the form and timing of the payment of proceeds from a contract of 
insurance or annuity; and 
(m). Pay, from proceeds or otherwise, compromise or contest, and apply for refunds 
in connection with, a tax or assessment levied by a taxing authority with respect to a 
contract of insurance or annuity or its proceeds or liability accruing by reason of the tax 
or assessment. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 210 of the UPOAA) 
This section contains a significant change from Section 10 of the Uniform Statutory 
Form Power of Attorney Act. The default language in the Uniform Statutory Form 
Power of Attorney Act permitted an agent to designate the beneficiary of an insurance 
contract. See Unif. Statutory Form Power of Atty. Act § 1 0(4) (1988). However, under 
Section 210 of this Act, an agent does not have authority to "create or change a 
beneficiary designation" unless that authority is specifically granted to the agent pursuant 
to Section 201(a). The authority granted under Paragraph (2) of Section 210 is more 
limited, allowing an agent to only "procure new, different, and additional contracts of 
insurance and annuities for the principal and the principal's spouse, children, and other 
dependents." A principal who grants authority to an agent under Section 210 should 
therefore carefully consider whether a specific grant of authority to create or change 
beneficiary designations is also desirable. 
§5-941. Estates, trusts and other beneficial interests 
(a). As used in this section, "estate, trust and other beneficial interest" means a trust, 
probate estate, guardianship, conservatorship, escrow or custodianship or a fund from 
which the principal is, may become or claims to be entitled to a share or payment. 
(b). 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of 
attorney granting general authority with respect to estates, trusts and· other beneficial 
interests authorizes the agent to: 
(1). 
Accept, receive, receipt for, sell, assign, pledge or exchange a share in or 
payment from the fund; 
(2). Demand or obtain money or another thing of value to which the principal is, may 
become or claims to be entitled by reason of the fund, by litigation or otherwise; 
(3). Exercise for the benefit of the principal a presently exercisable general power of 
appointment held by the principal; 
(4). Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to ascertain the meaning, 
validity or effect of a deed, will, declaration of trust or other instrument or transaction 
affecting the interest of the principal; 
(5). Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation to remove, substitute or 
surcharge a fiduciary; 
(6). Conserve, invest, disburse or use anything received for an authorized purpose; 
and 
(7). Transfer an interest of the principal in real property, stocks and bonds, accounts 
with financial institutions or securities intermediaries, insurance, annuities and other 
property to the trustee of a revocable trust created by the principal as settler. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 211 of the UPOAA) 
This section, which corresponds to Section 11 of the Uniform Statutory Form Power 
of Attorney Act, has been revised to clarify that an agent's authority includes authority to 
exercise, for the benefit of the principal, a presently exercisable general power of 
appointment held by the principal (subsection (b)(3)). "Presently exercisable general 
power of appointment" is defined for purposes ofthe Act in Section 102(8). 
§5-942. Claims and litigation 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to claims and litigation authorizes the agent to: 
(a). Assert and maintain before a court or administrative agency a claim, claim for 
relief, cause of action, counterclaim, offset, recoupment or defense, including an action to 
recover property or other thing of value, recover damages sustained by the principal, 
eliminate or modify tax liability or seek an injunction, specific performance or other 
relief; 
(b). Bring an action to determine adverse claims or intervene or otherwise participate 
in litigation; 
(e). 
Seek an attachment, garnishment, order of· arrest or other preliminary, 
provisional or intermediate relief and use an. available procedure to effect or satisfy a 
judgment, order or decree; 
(d). Make or accept a tender, offer of judgment or admission of facts, submit a 
controversy on an agreed statement of facts, consent to examination and bind the 
principal in litigation; 
(e). 
Submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle and propose or accept a 
compromise; 
(0. Waive the issuance and service of process upon the principal, accept service of 
process, appear for the principal, designate persons upon which process directed to the 
principal may be served, execute and file or deliver stipulations on the principal's behalf, 
verify pleadings, seek appellate review, procure and give surety and indemnity bonds, 
contract and pay for the preparation and printing of records and briefs, receive, execute 
and file or deliver a consent, waiver, release, confession of judgment, satisfaction of 
) 
) 
) 
('~ 
, 
. 
',,,,~---,> 
judgment, notice, agreement or other instrument in connection with the prosecution, 
settlement or defense of a claim or litigation; 
(g). Act for the principal with respect to bankruptcy or insolvency, whether voluntary 
or involuntary, concerning the principal or some other person, or with respect to a 
reorganization, receivership or application for the appointment of a receiver or trustee 
that affects an interest of the principal in property or other thing of value; 
(b). Pay a judgment, award or order against the principal or a settlement made in 
connection with a claim or litigation; and 
(i). Receive money or other thing of value paid in settlement of or as proceeds of a 
claim or litigation. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 212 of the UPOAA) 
§5-943. Personal and family maintenance 
(a). 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of 
attorney granting general authority with respect to personal and family maintenance 
authorizes the agent to: 
(1). Perform the acts necessary to maintain the customary standard of living of the 
principal, the principal's spouse and the following individuals, whether living when 
the power of attorney is executed or later born: 
en The principal's children; 
Oi) Other individuals legally entitled to be supported by the principal; and 
(iii) The individuals whom the principal has customarily supported or indicated 
the intent to support; 
(2). Make periodic payments of child support and other family maintenance required 
by a court or governmental agency or an agreement to which the principal is a party; 
(3). Provide living quarters for the individuals described in paragraph (1) by: 
en Purchase, lease or other contract; or 
(m 
Paying the operating costs, including interest, amortization payments, 
repairs, improvements and taxes, for premises owned by the principal or 
occupied by those individuals; 
(4). Provide normal domestic help, usual vacations and travel expenses and funds for 
shelter, clothing, food, appropriate education, including postsecondary and vocational 
education, and other current living costs for the individuals described in paragraph 
ill 
(5). Pay expenses for necessary health care and custodial care on behalf of the 
individuals described in paragraph (1); 
(6). Act as the principal's personal representative pursuant to the federal Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 United States Code, Section 
l320d et seq., as amended, and applicable regulations, in making decisions related to 
. the past, present or future payment for the provision of health care consented to by 
the principal or anyone authorized under the law of this State to consent to health care 
on behalf of the principal; 
(7). Continue any provision made by the principal for automobiles or other means of 
transportation, including registering, licensing, insuring and replacing them, for the 
individuals described in paragraph (1); 
(8). 
Maintain credit and debit accounts for the convenience of the individuals 
described in paragraph (1) and open new accounts; and 
(9). Continue payments incidental to the membership or affiliation of the principal in 
a religious institution, club, society, order or other organization or to continue 
contributions to those organizations. 
(b). Authority with respect to personal and family maintenance is neither dependent 
upon, nor limited by, authority that an agent mayor may not have with respect to gifts 
under this Part. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 213 of the UPOAA) 
This section, based on Section l3 of the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney 
Act, contains three important changes. The first is clarification in subsection (a)(l) of 
who qualifies to benefit from payments for personal and family maintenance. Paragraph 
(1) states that the individuals who may benefit include not only the principal's children 
and other individuals legally entitled to be supported by the principal, but also 
"individuals whom the principal has customarily supported or indicated the intent to 
support," "whether living when the power of attorney is executed or later born." This 
definition is broad enough to include common recipients of family support such as 
parents and later-born grandchildren if such support is intended by the principal. 
The second important addition to Section 213 is the inclusion of paragraph (6) in 
subsection (a) which qualifies the agent to act as the principal's "personal representative" 
for purposes of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIP AA) so that 
. 
the agent can communicate with health care providers in order to pay medical bills. See 
C.F.R. § 164.502(g)(l)-(2) (2006) (providing that for purposes of disclosing an 
individual's protected health information, "a covered entity must ... treat a personal 
representative as the individual"). Section 213 does not, however, empower the agent to 
make health-care decisions for the principal. See Section 103 and comment (discussing 
exclusion from this Act of powers to make health-care decisions). 
The third important addition to this section is subsection (b) which provides that 
authority under Section 213 is neither dependent upon, nor limited by, authority that an 
agent mayor may not have with respect to making gifts. Although payments made for 
the benefit of persons under Section 213 may in fact be subject to gift tax treatment, 
subsection (b) clarifies that the authority for personal and family maintenance payments 
) 
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by an agent emanates from this section rather than Section 217. This is an important 
distinction because the Act requires a grant of specific authority under Section 201 ( a) to 
authorize gift making, and the default provisions of Section 217 limit the amounts of 
those gifts. The authority to make payments under Section 213 is not constrained by 
either of these provisions. 
§5-944. Benefits from governmental programs or civil or military service 
(a). As used in this section, "benefit from governmental programs or civil or military 
service" means any benefit, program or assistance provided under a statute, rule or 
regulation including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. 
(b). 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of 
attorney granting general authority with respect to benefits from governmental programs 
or civil or military service authorizes the agent to: 
(1). 
Execute vouchers in the name of the principal for allowances and 
reimbursements payable by the United States or a foreign government or by a state or 
subdivision of a state to the principal, including allowances and reimbursements for 
transportation of the individuals described in section 5-943, subsection (a), paragraph 
(1) and for shipment of their household effects; 
(2). Take possession and order the removal and shipment of property of the principal 
from a post, warehouse, depot, dock or other place of storage or safekeeping, either 
governmental or private, and execute and deliver a release, voucher, receipt, bill of 
lading, shipping ticket, certificate or other instrument for that purpose; 
(3). 
Enroll in, apply for, select, reject, change, amend or discontinue, on the 
principal's behalf, a benefit or program; 
(4). Prepare, file and maintain a claim of the principal for a benefit or assistance, 
financial or otherwise, to which the principal may be entitled under a statute, rule or 
regulation; 
(5). Initiate, participate in, submit to alternative dispute resolution, settle, oppose or 
propose or accept a compromise with respect to litigation concerning any benefit or 
assistance the principal may be entitled to receive under a statute, rule or regulation; 
and 
(6). 
Receive the [mancial proceeds of a claim described in subsection (4) and 
conserve, invest, disburse or use for a lawful purpose anything so received. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 214 of the UPOAA) 
§5-945. Retirement plans 
(a). As used in this section, "retirement plan" means a plan or account created by an 
employer, the principal or another individual to provide retirement benefits or deferred 
compensation of which the principal is a participant, beneficiary or owner, including a 
plan or account under the following sections of the federal Internal Revenue Code: 
(1). An individual retirement account under 26 United States Code, Section 408, as 
amended; 
(2). A Roth individual retirement account under 26 United States Code, Section 
408A, as amended; 
(3). A deemed individual retirement account under 26 United States Code, Section 
408(9), as amended; 
(4). An annuity or mutual fund custodial account under 26 United States Code, 
Section 403(b), as amended; 
(5). A pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus or other retirement plan qualified under 
United States Code, Section 401(a), as amended; 
(6). A plan under 26 United States Code, Section 457(b), as amended; and 
(7). 
A nonqualified deferred compensation plan under 26 United States Code, 
Section 409A, as amended. 
(b). 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of 
attorney granting general authority with respect to retirement plans authorizes the agent 
to: 
(1). 
Select the form and timing of payments under a retirement plan and withdraw 
benefits from a plan; 
(2). Make a rollover, including a direct trustee-to-trustee rollover, of benefits from 
one retirement plan to another; 
(3). Establish a retirement plan in the principal's name; 
. (4). Make contributions to a retirement plan; 
(5). Exercise investment powers available under a retirement plan; and 
(6). Borrow from, sell assets to or purchase assets from a retirement plan. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 215 of the UPOAA) 
This section, based on Section 15 of the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney 
Act, has been substantially updated to reflect changes in the laws governing retirement 
plans. A significant departure from the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act 
is the deletion of default authority in the agent to waive the right of the principal to be a 
beneficiary of a joint or survivor annuity (see Unif. Statutory Form Power of Atty. Act § 
(1988)). Under this Act, the authority to waive the principal's right to be a beneficiary 
of a joint and survivor annuity must be given by a specific grant pursuant to Section 
201(a). 
§5-946. Taxes 
Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a power of attorney 
granting general authority with respect to taxes authorizes the agent to: 
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(a). Prepare, sign and file federal, state, local and foreign income, gift, payroll, 
property, Federal Insurance Contributions Act and other tax returns, claims for refunds, 
requests for extension of time, petitions regarding tax matters and any other tax-related 
documents, including receipts, offers, waivers, consents, including consents and 
agreements under 26 United States Code, Section 2032A, as amended, closing 
agreements and any power of attorney required by the federal Internal Revenue Service 
or other taxing authority with respect to a tax year upon which the statute of limitations 
has not run and the following 25 tax years; 
(b). Pay taxes due, collect refunds, post bonds, receive confidential information and 
contest deficiencies determined by the federal Internal Revenue Service or other taxing 
authority; 
(c). Exercise any election available to the principal under federal, state, local or 
foreign tax law; and 
(d). Act for the principal in all tax matters for all periods before the federal Internal 
Revenue Service or other taxing authority. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 216 of the UPOAA) 
§5-947. Gifts 
(a). As used in this section, a gift "for the benefit of' a person includes a gift to a 
trust, an account under the Maine Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and a tuition savings 
account or prepaid tuition plan as defined under 26 United States Code, Section 529, as 
amended. 
(b). 
An agent may make a gift of the principal's property only as the agent 
determines is consistent with the principal's objectives if actually known by the agent 
and, if unknown, as the agent determines is consistent with the principal's best interest 
based on all relevant factors, including: 
(1). The value and nature of the principal's property; 
(2). The principal's foreseeable obligations and need for maintenance; 
(3). 
Minimization of taxes, including income, estate, inheritance, generation-
skipping transfer and gift taxes; 
(4). 
Eligibility for a benefit, a program or assistance under a statute, rule or 
regulation; and 
(5). The principal's personal history of making or joining in making gifts. 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 217 of the UPOAA) 
This section provides default limitations on an agent's authority to make a gift of the 
principal's property. Authority to make a gift must be made by a specific grant in a power 
of attorney (see Section 201 (a)(2); see also Section 301). The mere granting to an agent 
of authority to make gifts does not, however, grant an agent unlimited authority. The 
agent's authority is subject to this section unless enlarged or further limited by an express 
modification in the power of attorney. Without modification, the authority of an agent 
under this section is limited to gifts in an amount per donee not to exceed the annual 
dollar limits of the federal gift tax exclusion, or twice that amount if the principal and the 
principal's spouse consent to make a split gift. 
Subsection (a) of this section clarifies the fact that a gift includes not only outright 
gifts, but also gifts for the benefit of a person. Subsection (a) provides examples of gifts 
made for the benefit of a person, but these examples are not intended to be exclusive. 
Subsection (c) emphasizes that exercise of authority to make a gift, as with exercise 
of all authority under a power of attorney, must be consistent with the principal's 
objectives. If these objectives are not mown, then gifts must be consistent with the 
principal's best interest based on all relevant factors. Subsection (c) provides examples of 
factors relevant to the principal's best interest, but these examples are illustrative rather 
than exclusive. 
To the extent that a principal's objectives with respect to the making of gifts may 
potentially conflict with an agent's default duties under the Act, the principal should 
carefully consider stating those objectives in the power of attorney, or altering the default 
rules to accommodate the objectives, or both. See Section 114 Comment. 
Maine Comment 
Maine deviates from the Uniform Act by removing entirely the requirement that the 
default gifting powers be limited to an amount per donee not to exceed the annual dollar 
limits of the federal gift tax exclusion or, if the principal's spouse consented to a split gift, 
in an amount per donee not to exceed twice the annual federal gift tax exclusion limit. 
General Uniform Comment 
Article 2 is based in part on the predecessor Uniform Statutory Form Power of 
Attorney Act, approved in 1988. 
It provides the default statutory construction for 
. 28 
authority granted in a power of attorney. Sections 204 through 217 describe authority 
with respect to various subject matters. 
These descriptions may be incorporated by 
reference in the optional statutory form (Section 301) or in an individually drafted power 
of attorney. Incorporation is accomplished either by referring to the descriptive term for 
the subject or by providing a citation to the section in which the authority is described 
(Section 202). A principal may also modify any authority incorporated by reference 
(Section 202(c». 
Section 203 supplements Sections 204 through 217 by providing 
general terms of construction that apply to all grants of authority under those sections 
unless otherwise indicated in the power of attorney. 
7 
Most of the language in Sections 204 through 216 of Article 2 comes directly from 
the Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act. The language has been revised 
where necessary to reflect modern custom and practice. Where significant changes have 
been made, they are noted in a comment to the relevant section. In general, there are two 
important differences between the statutory treatment of authority in this Act and in the 
Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act. First, this Act includes a section that 
provides a default rule for the parameters of gift making authority (Section 217). Second, 
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this Act identifies specific acts that may be authorized only by an express grant in the 
power of attorney (Section 201 (a)). Express authorization for the acts listed in Section 
201(a) is required because of the risk those acts pose to the principal's property and estate 
plan. The purpose of Section 201 (a) is to make clear that authority for these acts may not 
be inferred from a grant of general authority. 
SUBPART 3 
STATUTORY FORMS 
§5-951. Agent's certification 
The following optional form may be used by an agent to certify facts concerning a 
power of attorney. 
AGENT'S CERTIFICATION AS TO THE VALIDITY OF POWER OF 
ATTORNEY AND AGENT'S AUTHORITY 
S ta te of ...................................................... . 
County of ................................................... . 
1, " ..................................................................... (Name of Agent), certify under penalty 
of perjury that .................................................................... (name of Principal) granted me 
authority as 
an 
agent or successor agent in a power of attorney dated 
I further certify that to my knowledge: 
(1) The Principal is alive and has not revoked the Power of Attorney or my authority 
to act under the Power of Attorney and the Power of Attorney and my authority to act 
under the Power of Attorney have not terminated; 
(2) If the Power of Attorney was drafted to become effective upon the happening of 
an event or contingency, the event or contingency has occurred; 
(3) If I was named as a successor agent, the prior agent is no longer able or willing to 
serve; and 
ill 
................................................................................................................................ 
(Insert other relevant statements) 
SIGNATURE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
Agent's Signature 
Date 
Agent's Name Printed 
Agent's Address 
Agent's Telephone Number 
This document was acknowledged before me on ................................................ .. 
(Date) 
by ...................................................... . 
(name of Agent) 
................................................................... (Seal, if any) 
Signature of Notary/Attorney 
My corrunission expires: ...................................................... . 
This document prepared by: 
................................................................................................................................ 
Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 302 of the UPOAA) 
This section provides an optional form that may be used by an agent to certify facts 
concerning a power of attorney. Although the form contains statements of fact about 
which persons commonly request certification, other factual statements may be added to 
the form for the purpose of providing an agent certification pursuant to Section 119. 
General Uniform Comment 
Article 3 provides a concise, optional statutory form for creating a power of attorney 
under this Act (Section 301). With the proliferation of power of attorney forms in the 
public domain, the advantage of a statutorily-sanctioned form is the promotion of 
uniformity in power of attorney practice. In states such as Illinois and New York, where 
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state-sanctioned statutory forms have existed for many years, the statutory form is widely 
used by both lawyers and lay persons. 
The familiarity and common understanding 
achieved with the use of one statutory form also facilitates acceptance of powers of 
attorney. In the twenty years preceding this Act, the number of states with statutory 
forms has increased from only a few to eighteen. 
In addition to the statutory form power of attorney, Article 3 provides an optional 
form for agent certification of facts pertaining to a power of attorney (Section 302). 
Pursuant to Section 119, a person may request an agent to certify any factual matter 
concerning the principal, agent, or power of attorney. 
The form in Section 302 is 
intended to facilitate agent compliance with these requests. The form lists factual matters 
about which persons commonly request certification (e.g., the principal is alive and has 
not revoked the power of attorney or the agent's authority), and provides a designated 
space for certification of additional factual statements. Both the statutory form power of 
attorney and the agent certification form may be tailored to accommodate individual 
circumstances and objectives. 
SUBPART 4 
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
§5-961. Uniformity of application and construction 
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need 
to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among the states that 
enact it. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 401 of the UPOAA) 
§5-962. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act 
This Part modifies, limits and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global 
and National Commerce Act, 15 United States Code, Section 7001 et seq., but does not 
modify, limit or supersede 15 United States Code, Section 7001(c), or authorize 
electronic delivery of any of the notices described in 15 United States Code, Section 
7003Cb). 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 402 of the UPOAA) 
§5-963. Effect on existing powers of attorney 
Except as otherwise provided in this Part, on July 1, 2010: 
Cal. This Part applies to a power of attorney created before, on or after July 1,2010; 
(b). This Part applies to a judicial proceeding concerning a power of attorney 
commenced on or after July L 2010; and 
(c). 
This Part applies to a judicial proceeding concerning a power of attorney 
commenced before July 1, 2010, unless the court finds that application of a provision of 
this Part would substantially interfere with the effective conduct of the judicial 
proceeding or prejudice the rights of a party, in which case that provision does not apply 
and the superseded law applies. 
An act done before July 1, 2010 is not affected by this Part. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 403 of the UPOAA) 
§5-964. Effective date 
This Part takes effect July 1, 2010. 
No Uniform Comment 
(This is Section 405 of the UPOAA) 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §1711-C, sub-§l, -UA, as amended by PL 1999, c. 512, Pt. A, 
§5 and affected by §7, is further amended to read: 
A. 
"Authorized representative of an individual" or "authorized representative" 
means an individual's legal guardian; agent pursuant to Title 18-A, section 5-802; 
attorney in fact agent pursuant to Title 18-A, section 5 506 Article 5, Part 9; or other 
authorized representative or, after death, that person's personal representative or a 
person identified in subsection 3-B. For a minor who has not consented to health 
care treatment in accordance with the provisions of state law, "authorized 
representative" means the minor's parent, legal guardian or guardian ad litem. 
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §8621, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 692, §1, is amended 
to read: 
6. Durable health care power of attorney. "Durable health care power of attorney" 
has the same meaning as "power of attorney for health care" contained in Title 18-A, 
section 5-5% 5-801. 
Sec. 5. Legislative intent. This Act is the Maine enactment of the Uniform Power 
of Attorney Act as approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform 
State Laws in 2006. The text of the uniform act has been changed to conform to Maine 
statutory conventions. Unless otherwise noted in a Maine comment, the changes are 
technical in nature and it is the intent of the Legislature that this Act be interpreted as 
substantively the same as the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. 
Sec. 6. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2010. 
SUMMARY 
The Maine Uniform Power of Attorney Act, Maine UPOAA, replaces and expands 
the provisions relating to powers of attorney in Maine's Probate Code, currently in the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, Article 5, Part 5. Durable powers of attorney have 
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been allowed since the late 1960s or early 1970s in almost every state. A durable power 
of attorney survives the incapacity of the principal to avoid the need to bring expensive 
and time-consuming guardianship or conservatorship actions to care for the principal's 
assets. 
Under Maine UPOAA, the agent serves in the same way a guardian or 
conservator would in relation to the principal's property. Maine UPOAA requires that 
certain powers, mostly related to estate planning, be expressly and specifically conferred 
rather than be accepted as general powers. Maine UPOAA also provides civil penalties 
for refusal by a 3rd party to accept a properly executed power of attorney if that 3rd party 
holds assets of the principal. 
Maine UPOAA does, however, create reasonable 
exceptions to the requirement that a 3rd party accept a properly executed and 
aclrnowledged power of attorney and it creates certain protections for persons who accept 
a power of attorney in good faith. Maine UPOAA contains provisions that protect a 
principal and the principal's successors Lll interest from an agent who violates its 
provlSlons. 
Finally, Maine UPOAA does not contain provisions related to so-called 
durable health care powers of attorney as currently provided in Article 5, Part 5 of 
Maine's Probate Code; however, Maine UPOAA does not affect Maine's Uniform 
Health-care Decisions Act in Article 5, Part 8 of Maine's Probate Code, which already, 
and concurrently, allows for the creation of so-called durable health care powers of 
attorney. 
This bill includes Uniform Comments and Maine Comments where applicable.