Sec. 9. (a) Language conferring general authority with respect to gift transactions means the principal authorizes the attorney in fact to do the following:

(1) Make gifts to organizations, charitable or otherwise, to which the principal has made gifts, and satisfy pledges made to organizations by the principal.

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 30-5-5-9

  • Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • 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.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • 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
  • Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the commonwealths, possessions, states in free association with the United States, and the territories. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(2) Make gifts on behalf of the principal to the principal’s spouse, children, and other descendants or the spouse of a child or other descendant, either outright or in trust, for purposes the attorney in fact considers to be in the best interest of the principal, including the minimization of income, estate, inheritance, or gift taxes. The attorney in fact or a person that the attorney in fact has a legal obligation to support may not be the recipient of gifts in one (1) year that total more than the amount allowed as an exclusion from gifts under Section 2503 of the Internal Revenue Code.

(3) Prepare, execute, consent to on behalf of the principal, and file a return, report, declaration, or other document required by the laws of the United States, a state, a subdivision of a state, or a foreign government that the attorney in fact considers desirable or necessary with respect to a gift made under the authority of this section.

(4) Execute, acknowledge, seal, and deliver a deed, an assignment, an agreement, an authorization, a check, or other instrument the attorney in fact considers useful to accomplish a purpose permitted under this section.

(5) Prosecute, defend, submit to arbitration, settle, and propose or accept a compromise with respect to a claim existing in favor of or against the principal based on or involving a gift transaction, or intervene in a related action or proceeding.

(6) Hire, discharge, and compensate an attorney, accountant, expert witness, or other assistant when the attorney in fact considers the action to be desirable for the proper execution by the attorney in fact of a power described in this section and keep needed records.

(7) Perform any other acts the attorney in fact considers desirable or necessary to complete a gift on behalf of the principal.

     (b) The powers described in this section are exercisable equally with respect to a gift of property in which the principal is interested at the time of the giving of the power of attorney or becomes interested in after that time, whether conducted in Indiana or in another jurisdiction.

As added by P.L.149-1991, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.238-2005, SEC.50.