From time to time, a credit union is presented with a power of attorney for one of its members. Powers of attorney are simple in concept—they allow a principal (the member) to appoint an agent to transact business on his or her behalf. In practice, however, questions often arise when accepting powers of attorney. Here are some things a credit union should check when presented with a power of attorney:
1. Is the power of attorney subject to the Uniform Power of Attorney Act? To make state laws more consistent with one another, many states have adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. UPOA provides default provisions (such as defining an agent’s duties; see Article 1) that apply to all powers of attorney in the absence of specific language in the document to the contrary. Currently, 22 states have adopted UPOA. While the specific state UPOA statutes are intended to provide consistency, there may be some variations between states. Therefore, it is still important to review the law adopted by the particular state for the power of attorney you are reviewing. References to UPOA provisions below relate to standard provisions, but again, specific states may deviate.
2. Confirm that the power of attorney is signed. All written powers of attorney must be signed by the principal. Not all states require powers of attorney to be notarized. Those states that have adopted UPOA, however, provide additional protections to credit unions if a power of attorney is notarized. Specifically, a credit union is allowed to rely on a notarized power of attorney as valid and proof that the agent is not exceeding or improperly exercising the agent’s authority unless the credit union has actual knowledge to the contrary.
The post What to look for when presented with a power of attorney appeared first on CUInsight.
May 01, 2017 at 01:27PM
from John
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