As of July 1, 2017, Georgia has a new Statutory Power of Attorney form. A financial power of attorney appoints someone you name (an agent) to take care of your finances if you become incapacitated. Your agent pays your bills, manages your investments, and takes care of you when you are unable to do so. By naming an agent, you avoid the need for court intervention, which costs time and money. If you have an old power of attorney, it may still be accepted but the new form significantly changed the law in three ways:
First, banks and financial institutions now must honor a statutory power of attorney. Under the previous law, a financial institution (bank, stock broker, investment management company) could reject an individual’s power of attorney and force them to use their form. Now any financial institution has to accept the Georgia Statutory form, unless they have a good faith reason for believing it is not in effect.
Second, the new form clearly lays out the liability and punishment for agents who abuse the power granted to them. Since a power of attorney will be used when someone is cognitively impaired, or otherwise relying on another to manage his or her finances, the legislature recognized that the penalties for those who manipulated and took advantage of the power granted to them needed to be harsh and clearly laid out.
Third, the legislature included a provision granting power of digital assets. We live in a digital age where every company tries to encourage paperless billing and paperless statements. While going paperless is good for the environment, it can cause a real headache if someone else needs to know your financial information, pay your bills, or act financially on your behalf. An agent needs to be able to access your online accounts to have full knowledge of your financial situation and to properly manage your finances.
The new power of attorney has a number of other changes as well, and as with all estate planning documents, keeping up to date with the latest laws and life circumstances is vital.
Make sure your estate plan is current. Contact us today for a consultation. The experienced attorneys at Grissom Law, LLC have the resources and skills you need to create your estate plan including the new power of attorney.
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