Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 49A-217 – Gifts
(a) In this section, a gift “for the benefit of” a person includes a gift to a trust, an account or an interest in property held under the Delaware Uniform Transfers to Minors Act [Chapter 45 of this title] or similar statute of any other state or jurisdiction, and a tuition savings account or prepaid tuition plan as defined under Internal Revenue Code § 529, 26 U.S.C. § 529, as amended, or similar plan.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 49A-217
- Donee: The recipient of a gift.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 12 Sec. 39A-101
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) Unless the personal power of attorney otherwise provides, language in a personal power of attorney granting general authority with respect to gifts authorizes the agent only to:
(1) Make outright to, or for the benefit of, a person, a gift of any of the principal’s property, including by the exercise of a presently exercisable general power of appointment held by the principal, in an amount per donee not to exceed the annual dollar limits of the federal gift tax exclusion under Internal Revenue Code§ 2503(b), 26 U.S.C. § 2503(b), as amended, without regard to whether the federal gift tax exclusion applies to the gift, or if the principal’s spouse agrees to consent to a split gift pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 2513, 26 U.S.C. § 2513, as amended, in an amount per donee not to exceed twice the annual federal gift tax exclusion limit; and
(2) Consent, pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 2513, 26 U.S.C. § 2513, as amended, to the splitting of a gift made by the principal’s spouse in an amount per donee not to exceed the aggregate annual gift tax exclusions for both spouses.
(c) An agent may make a gift of the principal’s property only as the agent determines is consistent with the principal’s objectives if actually known by the agent and, if unknown, as the agent determines is consistent with the principal’s best interest based on all relevant factors, including:
(1) The value and nature of the principal’s property;
(2) The principal’s foreseeable obligations and need for maintenance;
(3) Minimization of taxes, including income, estate, inheritance, generation-skipping transfer, and gift taxes;
(4) Eligibility for a benefit, a program, or assistance under a statute or regulation; and
(5) The principal’s personal history of making or joining in making gifts.