CHAPTER 284
H.P. 1104 - L.D. 1566
An Act Concerning Full Faith and Credit for Legal Documents Executed in Other Jurisdictions
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §5-508, sub-§(c), as repealed and replaced by PL 1997, c. 683, Pt. C, §6, is amended to read:
(c) A durable financial power of attorney executed in this State must be notarized by a notary public or an attorney-at-law.
Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA §5-508, sub-§(d), as amended by PL 2003, c. 618, Pt. B, §8 and affected by §20, is further amended to read:
(d) A durable financial power of attorney executed in this State must contain the following language:
"Notice to the Principal: As the "Principal," you are using this Durable Power of Attorney to grant power to another person (called the "Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact") to make decisions about your money, property or both and to use your money, property or both on your behalf. If this written Durable Power of Attorney does not limit the powers that you give your Agent, your Agent will have broad and sweeping powers to sell or otherwise dispose of your property and spend your money without advance notice to you or approval by you. Under this document, your Agent will continue to have these powers after you become incapacitated, and you may also choose to authorize your Agent to use these powers before you become incapacitated. The powers that you give your Agent are explained more fully in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and in Maine case law. You have the right to revoke or take back this Durable Power of Attorney at any time as long as you are of sound mind. If there is anything about this Durable Power of Attorney that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you.
Notice to the Agent: As the "Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact," you are given power under this Durable Power of Attorney to make decisions about the money, property or both belonging to the Principal and to spend the Principal's money, property or both on that person's behalf in accordance with the terms of this Durable Power of Attorney. This Durable Power of Attorney is valid only if the Principal is of sound mind when the Principal signs it. As the Agent, you are under a duty (called a "fiduciary duty") to observe the standards observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another. The duty is explained more fully in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and Title 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9 and in Maine case law. As the Agent, you are not entitled to use the money or property for your own benefit or to make gifts to yourself or others unless the Durable Power of Attorney specifically gives you the authority to do so. As the Agent, your authority under this Durable Power of Attorney will end when the Principal dies and you will not have the authority to administer the estate unless you are authorized to do so in accordance with the Probate Code. If you violate your fiduciary duty under this Durable Power of Attorney, you may be liable for damages and may be subject to criminal prosecution. If there is anything about this Durable Power of Attorney or your duties under it that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you."
This language does not confer powers not otherwise contained in the durable financial power of attorney.
Sec. 3. 18-A MRSA §5-510 is enacted to read:
§5-510. Recognition of powers of attorney from other jurisdictions
Notwithstanding any contrary requirements of law, a durable or nondurable health care power of attorney or a durable or nondurable financial power of attorney that was duly executed in another jurisdiction within the United States in compliance with the laws of that jurisdiction is not ineffective in this State due to noncompliance with the laws of this State.
Sec. 4. 18-A MRSA §5-802, sub-§(h), as enacted by PL 1995, c. 378, Pt. A, §1, is amended to read:
(h) An advance health-care directive is valid for purposes of this Part if it complies with this Part, regardless of when or where executed or communicated, or if valid under the laws of the state in which it was executed. An advance health-care directive that is valid where executed or communicated is valid for the purposes of this Part.
Effective September 17, 2005.
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