Effective Oct. 1, 2011 Florida’s new durable power of attorney statute becomes law. This is the first major change to the statute since Oct. 1, 1995.
Durable powers of attorney now require two witnesses and a notarization, but under the new law, out-of-state durable powers of attorney will be honored if they were valid in the home state at the time of execution.
This is good news for Florida snowbirds, who finally got it right and adopted our state as their own, right? Not so fast! Florida has some very picky durable power of attorney interpretation statutes that still can still trip up an out-of-state durable power of attorney.
The new durable power of attorney statute still requires specific authority to grant certain powers to your agent or your agent will not have that power. Broad grants of authority, like “to do everything the grantor could do,” are invalid.
However, the new statute now requires that the person making the power of attorney initial or sign next to certain types of powers in the document for those powers to be authorized. These powers involve changing beneficiaries, creating trusts, making certain gifts, or other estate planning transactions.
The new statute also includes some very special language for banking and investment transactions. Financial institutions now have only four days to review a durable power of attorney presented to them. But, since this period can be extended under some circumstances, it is probably a good practice to give your financial institution a copy of your durable power of attorney. That way, the bank can review it, and you can be assured it will be honored when it is needed.
People often ask me how often they should have their legal documents reviewed. When it comes to Powers of Attorney,the time is NOW.
Call our offices for a consultation so we can review your existing documents.
Debra G. Simms
Altamonte Springs, FL
Toll free- 1-877-447-4667
