As advisors, we are often charged with the implementation of our best-laid plans for our clients. Who hasn’t experienced the frustration and confusion when one of our planning documents is submitted to a financial institution and rejected, perhaps with little or no explanation? How much do we wish that we had better solutions and recourse for the acceptance of our planning? Fortunately, in 2021, we have additional power to plan for our powers of attorney in New York.
On December 15, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a significant and timely change to the New York law governing Powers of Attorney (“POA”), effective June 13, 2021. While this new law does not affect the validity of any existing, valid short-form statutory POA or gift riders before the effective date, attorneys and clients should be aware of these changes and potentially useful estate planning opportunities under the new law.