Power of Attorney Basics. The person granting the power of attorney (POA) is the principal, and the person receiving the power is the agent or attorney-in-fact. When you use a POA to sign over your legal authority in New York, the document must be notarized, but does not have to be filed with the court unless it’s used for a real estate transaction.
The medical POA in New York is called a “Health Care Proxy.” It grants your health care agent the right to make as many or as few medical decisions as you designate should you become unable to do so. New York defines health care as “any treatment, service or procedure to diagnose or treat your physical or mental condition.” For instance, your health care agent can refuse or permit life-sustaining measures if you should become comatose after surgery. The New York statutory form contains a place for you to include specific instructions regarding your care. The New York State Bar Association has free forms available on its site.
POAs are often used by individuals who are incapacitated for one reason or another and thus unable to attend to legal affairs, such as opening a bank account or handling property tax transactions. A POA can give very limited power for a short period of time or grant the agent broad power that lasts until the principal becomes mentally incompetent or dies.
A durable POA allows the agent to continue acting for the principal even when the principal is incompetent or unable to make decisions on his own. It takes effect immediately and can be canceled only by the principal or upon the principal’s death. The springing POA takes effect at a future date.
New York’s Three POAs. The nondurable POA takes effect immediately and ends when the principal revokes the POA, dies or becomes mentally incompetent. This POA is generally used to give the agent authority for a specific transaction, such as closing on a real estate sale when the principal is visiting friends in Norway.
The springing POA takes effect at a future date. It’s often enacted when a principal becomes very ill or disabled. It can be noted in the POA that the principal’s physician will determine if the principal is no longer able to manage her own legal affairs.
Giving someone POA does not mean you can’t attend to your own legal and financial issues. It just gives your agent the right to do so when you aren’t available. You can cancel the POA by informing your agent and your financial institutions in writing that the POA has been revoked.
power of attorney or authorization forms for another state's or city's department of revenue or finance or tax department (for example, New York City Form POA-2).
Option 1: Send a revoked copy of the previously filed POA to the Tax Department.
You will need to file a new POA for the representatives that you want to retain. A POA is not valid after you (the taxpayer) die.
Filing a Form POA-1 that was created using the POA web application or the (6/17) paper version will not automatically revoke a POA previously filed with the Tax Department for the same matters.
If you are the taxpayer who granted authority through a power of attorney, you can revoke the authority.
Important —If multiple individuals have been appointed on one POA, you (the representative) cannot withdraw from the POA without invalidating all of the other individuals listed. The taxpayer must file a new POA to appoint the individuals they want to continue to represent them.
If you are a legally appointed fiduciary, you must submit evidence of your authority to act for the taxpayer. For more information, see What you can file: Other documents.
The NYSLRS Special Durable Power of Attorney (POA) document allows someone else, referred to as the “agent,” (for example, a trusted friend or family member) to act on your behalf regarding retirement benefit transactions.
The NYSLRS special durable power of attorney form meets all of New York State’s legal requirements.
Your agent can access account-specific information about your NYSLRS retirement benefits (by phone, email or mail) and update your contact information, including your address and phone number. In addition, your agent will be able to:
If you decide to appoint someone to act on your behalf regarding your NYSLRS retirement benefits, it is important that you provide your POA to NYSLRS so it can be reviewed and noted in your account. You can submit a POA document whether you are retired or still working, and we will accept a photocopy. You can mail it to:
Every state has its rules about powers of attorney. In New York, a POA document enables the principal to delegate powers to an agent. This allows the agent to make financial or medical decisions on behalf of the principal.
A power of attorney in New York state grants the agent the right to do the following on the principal’s behalf:
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You can make several different types of POAs.
For your POA to be valid in New York, it must meet certain requirements.
New York offers a statutory form (a form drafted by the state legislature) with blanks that you can fill out to create your POA. However, statutory forms are often full of legalese, and it's not always apparent how to fill them out.
Legally speaking, you can name any competent adult to serve as your agent. But you'll want to take into account certain practical considerations, such as the person's trustworthiness and geographical location. For more on choosing agents, see What Is a Power of Attorney.
In New York, unless you've explicitly stated otherwise in the document, your durable financial power of attorney takes effect as soon as you've signed it before witnesses and a notary public.
Any power of attorney automatically ends at your death. It also ends if:
A New York general power of attorney form enables a principal to name a representative (“agent” or “attorney-in-fact”) for the management of their financial affairs.
A New York revocation power of attorney form can be used to cancel an existing power of attorney form. Whether a durable, general, medical, or limited power of attorney is in place, this revocation form will immediately terminate the desired power of attorney, as long as it’s properly executed. The principal needs to send copies of this revocation POA to any and all individuals/entities who…
The New York minor power of attorney form is a document that parents can use to authorize a third party to temporarily have parental rights over their child. This type of arrangement is usually used during a period of a parent’s absence due to work, military deployment, illness, or education. The designated attorney-in-fact will be able to make decisions regarding the child’s education, health care,…
If the recipient decides to reject a POA, written notice must stipulate all the reasons for such rejection and must be sent to the principal and agent. Reasons for rejection may include non-conforming form, missing or unacceptable signature, invalid notarization, unacceptable identification, the POA is not a signed original or attorney certified copy, suspicion of elder abuse, the agent is named in a money-laundering or anti-terrorist list, and a signature does not match a signature on file within a reasonable timeframe. If the recipient of a POA decides to reject the POA, the new law allows the recipient of a rejection notice to write a response. If the party that originally rejected a POA receives a response, they must respond within seven days and must state whether the power of attorney will be ultimately accepted or rejected.
Including a remedy for damages is intended to address the issue of financial institutions and other third parties rejecting POA forms for reasons not relevant to validity. The new legislation creates a presumption that a POA form is valid and permits courts to award damages.
An affidavit from an agent should certify that the agent in question does not believe that that the POA is invalid or has been revoked or modified before the execution of the affidavit or has had any changes that may affect the agent’s authority in the transaction.
The principal must provide an opinion of counsel at their own expense, and as they may be required routinely, the expenses should be discussed when signing a POA. The new law does not identify when a person must accept or reject a POA after receiving the requested opinion of counsel.
Under current New York law, to have a valid power of attorney or statutory gift rider, both forms must be written precisely with strict adherence to the statute . This has caused documents to be invalidated in practice due to insignificant errors, which could have severe repercussions. Strict adherence is especially damaging when a principal suffers ...
Allowing damages will apply only to unreasonable denial to accept an agent’s authority under a statutory short form POA that substantially complies with the statute. Thus, this change will incentivize third parties to accept valid POA forms, since there will be a repercussion for unreasonable rejection.