Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: Power Of Attorney

Here are my answers:

When a person has power of attorney can they sign the name of the person they have power of attorney for on legal documents?

Ans: Not exactly. Sue would sign "Mary XXX, Attorney In Fact for Sue XXX."

For example lets say Mary has POA over her mother Sue. They have joint bank accounts so Mary can pay her mom's bills but all the money in the accounts belongs to Sue. Mary does not contribute any money to these accouts. Can Mary sign Sue's name on a bank document having Sue's name removed from these accounts so that the accounts now belong to Mary?

Ans: It depends on the language of the Power of Attorney document. If the language specifically permits Mary to make gifts to herself on behalf of Sue, then she would have the authority. Otherwise, the power to make a self-gift is not normally in a Power of Attorney.

Now that Mary has passed away is the signing of these documents considered forgery?

Ans: The Power of Attorney expires at death of the grantor of the power (in this case Sue.) Mary does not have the legal authority, but to call it "forgery" seems an overstatement.

The reality is this sounds like a sibling dispute that would best be handled by discussions rather than litigation and charges.

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Ron Cappuccio

Re: Power Of Attorney

The proper way to sign would be to sign your own name", by Power of Attorney".

Signing someone elses signature, even if you have a Power of Attorney, is still a criminal act called forgery.

Further, a Power of Attorney is only valid while the person who gave it is still alive. Using a POA for financial transactions after a person has passed away violates criminal laws of Larceny and Fraud.

Please contact me if you have further questions.

Re: Power Of Attorney

A person must sign for another person as power of attorney, not in the own person's name. Further, a power of attorney can only be used for the benefit of the absentee party.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can call my office to schedule an appointment for a consultation or in the alternative, I can be reached for on-phone low-cost legal consultation at 1-800-275-5336 x0233699

Re: Power Of Attorney

The typical way to sign is Sue by Mary, POA. The POA is limited to the purposes specified in the document, which usually does not allow the delisting of the primary person (taking the joint account and converting it solely to the name of the holder of the POA). This could be allowed if the POA allows for gifts to be made by using the power. Once the person granting the power passes away, the power becomes void and no further use can be continued. If the holder of the power passes away, only a named successor, if any, can act for the maker.