Westchester Elder Law Attorney Anthony J. Enea offers an perception into the up to date authorized abbreviation of the New York Power of Attorney

Several highly anticipated changes to New York State’s Short Power of Attorney (POA) are scheduled to take effect on June 13. Westchester attorney Anthony J. Enea of ​​Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP, with offices in Somers and White Plains, NY, recently highlighted these changes in an article in the New York State Bar Association Journal.

“The POA is an extremely important document for estate planning, especially when it comes to a person’s health and mental capacity,” said Anthony Enea, who has been protecting the rights of the elderly, the disabled and their families for 35 years. “Since the last revision of the document was almost ten years ago, these changes are understandably long overdue. This POA form was viewed as overly complicated, prone to improper execution, and tedious to prepare and execute – especially for seniors. “

The new changes are intended to simplify the current document. This includes allowing essentially compliant wording instead of requiring consistently precise wording, providing “safe harbor” provisions for those who act in reliance on the POA, and sanctions against any natural or legal person (such as a bank or financial institution) allow those who inappropriately refused to accept a valid POA.

“Agents can now give away up to $ 5,000 per year (up from the previous $ 500 limit) without changing the form,” said Enea. “The provisions that previously applied to the legally required gift driver have also been removed. Any powers to donate in excess of $ 5,000 per year must be reported in the “Modifications” section of the POA. “

The updated POA enables a person to sign on the instruction of the client if they are physically unable to sign. It also clarifies the agent’s obligations under the POA to keep records and receipts, as well as the agent’s authority in relation to financial matters affecting the client’s health care.

Enea’s article “The Long Awaited Modifications to the Statutory Short Form Power of Attorney Have Been Enacted” provides more details on the new POA revisions and is available at: https://bit.ly/2T54ryQ.

Anthony Enea, an AV-rated outstanding lawyer (Martindale-Hubbell) and a strong leader in Westchester’s legal community, is President of the Westchester County Bar Foundation and Chairman of the 50+ Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is also a past president of the Westchester County Bar Association and past chairman of the Seniors’ Rights and Special Needs Department of the New York State Bar Association. Mr. Enea was named Westchester County’s Leading Elder Care Attorney at the Above the Bar Awards. His practice areas include Wills, Trusts & Estates, Elder Law; Planning the protection of Medicaid assets; Medicaid applications (home care and nursing home); Special needs planning and guardianship (Articles 81 and 17-A).

Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP is headquartered at 245 Main Street in White Plains, NY with additional offices in Somers, NY. For more information or to schedule a consultation, call 914-948-1500 or visit www.esslawfirm.com.

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Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP is a world-class AV-rated law firm with offices in White Plains and Somers, NY. Medicaid planning; Nursing home and home care applications; Wills, trusts and estates; Guardianship; Estate disputes; Trusts for additional needs; and special requirements planning. Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP serves Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, the Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island and Queens and is committed to providing the highest quality legal services to the elderly, the disabled and their families. Visit the firm online at www.esslawfirm.com.