Requires principals to make a good faith effort to identify and notify co-trustees and co-beneficiaries of the signing of a power of attorney including the identity of the agent where the agent is not a co-trustee or co-beneficiary.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4549
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 6, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to requiring
principals and beneficiaries to notify co-trustees and co-beneficiar-
ies of the signing of a power of attorney
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new
2 section 5-1515 to read as follows:
3 § 5-1515. Duty to notify other trustees and beneficiaries. 1. When a
4 principal, who is a trustee of a trust, signs a power of attorney which
5 allows the agent to affect such trust and the agent is not a co-trustee
6 of such trust, the principal shall make a good faith effort to identify
7 and notify in writing all other co-trustees of the signing of a power of
8 attorney and identify the person assigned as the principal's agent.
9 2. When a principal, who is a beneficiary of a trust, signs a power of
10 attorney and the agent is not a co-beneficiary of such trust, the prin-
11 cipal shall notify in writing all other co-beneficiaries of the signing
12 of a power of attorney and identify the person assigned as the princi-
13 pal's agent. If the principal cannot identify or contact a co-benefici-
14 ary after good faith efforts were made, the principal must attest to the
15 efforts made to identify and/or contact co-beneficiaries.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
17 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08773-01-5
