New Minnesota Power of Attorney Document Jan. 1, 2014

Beginning January 1, 2014, a new version of Minnesota’s so-called “short form” Power of Attorney document will go into effect.

Any Power of Attorney document that you already have will remain valid, assuming it was properly prepared and signed at the time it was created.

Whether using the new or old version, the purpose of the Minnesota Power of Attorney document is for you to authorize your handpicked agent – known as an attorney-in-fact – to handle your financial matters. Once given, your attorney-in-fact can act as soon as you sign the document. The power ceases at your death.

The new version differs from the old version in that it provides more safeguards as to whether you want to allow your attorney-in-fact to use any of your financial assets to make gifts to himself or herself. When your spouse is your attorney-in-fact, you may wish to grant this power. But you may not wish to grant such self-gifting authorization to the attorney-in-fact successors to your spouse. The new form allows you to designate that only certain of your attorney(s)-in-fact or successor attorneys-in-fact may self-gift. 

A frequent source of confusion prior to the Minnesota Legislature’s 2013 change in state law relates to the dollar value of the gifts that an attorney-in-fact could authorize as gifts to himself, herself or anyone he or she had a legal obligation to support. For gifting powers under a Minnesota Power of Attorney document signed prior to January 1, 2014, the limit remains $10,000 per person. However, for 2014 and future years, the authorization for gift transactions is now tied to the federal annual gift exclusion, which is currently $14,000 per person per year.  

The new version also adds language to clarify the powers granted under the Power of Attorney in an effort to reduce mistakes and/or financial exploitation.

The new version contains 2 “notices” that weren’t in the old version – one to the person granting the power of attorney, and the other to the “attorneys-in-fact”.

The notice to you, as the power-grantor, reminds you that it is the Minnesota Health Care Directive – and not the Power of Attorney document – that grants decision-making authority over matters related to your body. The notice to you also addresses the document’s purpose, summarizes the duties of your attorney-in-fact, and discusses termination of the Power of Attorney document.

The notice to the attorney-in-fact reminds him or her that any actions that your attorney-in-fact takes must be made in good faith, and in your best interest. The attorney-in-fact is warned that he or she may be personally liable should you, as the power-grantor, be injured due to actions taken in bad faith by your attorney-in-fact.

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Disclaimer: This Blog is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice. If you have questions, please seek the advice of an attorney. An attorney-client relationship is not formed by reading this Blog. If you are interested in Wittenburg Law’s representation of you, you must contact Wittenburg Law for a determination of whether your matter is one for which Wittenburg Law is willing and able to accept representation of you.

Bonnie Wittenburg, Wittenburg Law Office, PLLC, 601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 1050, Minnetonka, MN 55305         952-649-9771      bonnie@bwittenburglaw.com  www.bwittenburglaw.com