Opinion ID: 1741203
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: does a power of attorney create a confidential relationship?

Text: The trial court found a fiduciary relationship arose from the execution by Mrs. Hall of a power of attorney in favor of her brother, Marion Costello. That holding relied on the case of Weston v. Estate of Lawler, 406 So.2d 31 (Miss. 1981), aff'd, 451 So.2d 739 (Ms. 1984), where the executor of the contested will held a power of attorney from the testator, and was a trustee under the will to pay trust income to his (the trustee's) relatives. There, we stated that, Undue influence over a testator, while not exercised by a beneficiary under the will, may be done so through an agency or a third person. Id. at 34. And, as we held in VanZandt v. VanZandt, 227 Miss. 528, 86 So.2d 466 (1956), the relationship between principal and agent is a fiduciary one. However, Lawler does not stand for the proposition that the mere granting of a power of attorney automatically creates a confidential relationship raising the presumption of undue influence, since there were other relevant factors in Lawler. Specifically, the facts showed that the grantor of the power of attorney lived with the grantee and his family, who were the ultimate beneficiaries under the will. Other jurisdictions are split on the question of whether a power of attorney creates a confidential relationship as a matter of law, with some states holding that it does, Parker v. Spurlin, 227 Ga. 183, 179 S.E.2d 251 (1971); In re Estate of Bankovich, 344 Pa.Super. 520, 496 A.2d 1227 (1985); Askew v. Askew, 619 S.W.2d 384 (Tenn. App. 1981); and other states holding that it is only one factor, although a strong one, in determining whether a confidential relationship exists. In re Estate of MacPhee, 187 So.2d 679 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1966); Matter of Estate of Herm, 284 N.W.2d 191 (Iowa 1979); Peninsula Methodist Homes and Hospitals v. Cropper, 256 Md. 728, 261 A.2d 787 (1970). Matter of Ferrill, 97 N.M. 383, 640 P.2d 489 (1981). We are loathe to conclude that the grant of a power of attorney, in itself, creates a confidential relationship between the grantor and the grantee, as a matter of law. Many persons execute these instruments in an attempt to plan for future incapacity. Their reasons for granting the power to one relative over another may be indicative merely of the grantor's assessment of the grantee's business acumen. To hold the legatee who has also been granted a power of attorney to a different standard of proof in a will contest, without any more evidence of the relationship between him and the grantor, seems to be a harsh and unjust result. For that reason, we find error in the holding below that imposed the presumption of undue influence as the result of the power of attorney granted to Marion Costello from Mrs. Hall.