| LISTEN TO LAWRENCE
WHEN THE BANK REFUSES YOUR POWER OF ATTORNEY…READ ON:
READER QUESTION:
I understand that some banks refuse to accept Powers of Attorney prepared by attorneys and insist on their own forms. What happens if the person who signed the Power of Attorney now has dementia and cannot sign a new one?
MY RESPONSE:
Sue the bastards. This is totally unacceptable.
Ok, I will calm down, but I hate when banks do this, and it happens more often than you might think.
Imagine Mom signed a perfectly valid Power of Attorney years ago. Now she has dementia, and you need to access her accounts to pay her bills. But the bank refuses to accept it and insists on its own form. Now what? Well, here’s some good news!
Under New York law, a financial institution generally cannot reject a properly executed statutory Power of Attorney simply because it wasn’t prepared on its own form.
In fact, New York law generally requires the institution to accept the document or provide a written explanation for rejecting it within 10 business days.
So what should you do?
First, ask to speak with the branch manager or legal department. If that doesn’t work, formally submit the document and request a written explanation for the refusal.
If the institution still refuses without a legitimate reason, an attorney can seek a court order compelling acceptance. The institution may even be responsible for damages and attorney’s fees.
And here’s the most important part. Just because Mom now has dementia doesn’t invalidate her Power of Attorney! If she had capacity when she signed it, a properly executed durable Power of Attorney generally remains valid.
That’s why we prepare these documents in the first place!
My advice? Have your financial institutions review your Power of Attorney while you’re still healthy. It’s much easier to resolve these problems before a crisis.
Or perhaps just hand them this letter. |
