In a statutory short form power of attorney, the language conferring general authority with respect to “banking transactions,” must be construed to mean that the principal authorizes the agent:

1. To continue, to modify, to terminate and to make deposits to and withdrawals from any deposit account, including any joint account with the agent or totten trust for the benefit of the agent, or other banking arrangement made by or on behalf of the principal prior to the creation of the agency, provided, however, that:

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Terms Used In N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1502D

  • Agent: means a person granted authority to act as attorney-in-fact for the principal under a power of attorney, and includes the original agent and any co-agent or successor agent. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Non-statutory power of attorney: means a power of attorney that is not a statutory short form power of attorney. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • Person: means an individual, whether acting for himself or herself, or as a fiduciary or as an official of any legal, governmental or commercial entity (including, but not limited to, any such entity identified in this subdivision), corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, government agency, government entity, government instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • Power of attorney: means a written document, other than a document referred to in section 5-1501C of this title, by which a principal with capacity designates an agent to act on his or her behalf and includes both a statutory short form power of attorney and a non-statutory power of attorney. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • 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
  • Principal: means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older, acting for himself or herself and not as a fiduciary or as an official of any legal, governmental or commercial entity, who executes a power of attorney. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Sign: means to place any memorandum, mark or sign, written, printed, stamped, photographed, engraved or otherwise upon an instrument or writing, or to use an electronic signature as that term is defined in subdivision three of section three hundred two of the state technology law, with the intent to execute the instrument, writing or electronic record. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
  • Statutory short form power of attorney: means a power of attorney that meets the requirements of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subdivision one of section 5-1501B of this title, and that substantially conforms to the wording of the form set forth in section 5-1513 of this title; provided however, that any section indicated as "Optional" that is not used may be omitted and replaced by the words "Intentionally Omitted". See N.Y. General Obligations Law 5-1501
(a) with respect to joint accounts existing at the creation of the agency, the authority granted hereby shall not include the power to change the title of the account by the addition of a new joint tenant or the deletion of an existing joint tenant, unless the authority to make such changes is expressly stated otherwise in the “Modifications” section of a statutory short form power of attorney or in a non-statutory power of attorney signed and dated by the principal with the signature of the principal duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgement of a conveyance of real property, and which is executed pursuant to the requirements of section 5-1501B of this title, and
(b) with respect to totten trust accounts existing at the creation of the agency, the authority granted hereby shall not include the power to add, delete, or otherwise change the designation of beneficiaries in effect for any such accounts, unless the authority to make such additions, deletions or changes is expressly stated otherwise in the “Modifications” section of a statutory short form power of attorney or in a non-statutory power of attorney signed and dated by the principal with the signature of the principal duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property, and which is executed pursuant to the requirements of section 5-1501B of this title.
2. To open in the name of the principal or on behalf of the principal a deposit account of any type with any banker or in any banking institution selected by the agent, to make deposits to and withdrawals from any such deposit account, to hire such safe deposit box or vault space and to make such other contracts for the procuring of other services made available by any such banker or banking institution as the agent shall think to be desirable;
3. To make, to sign and to deliver checks or drafts for any purpose, to withdraw by check, order or otherwise any funds or property of the principal deposited with, or left in the custody of, any banker or banking institution, wherever located, either before or after the creation of the agency;
4. To prepare from time to time financial statements concerning the assets and liabilities or income and expenses of the principal, and to deliver statements so prepared to any banker, banking institution or other person, whom the agent believes to be reasonably entitled thereto;
5. To receive statements, vouchers, notices or other documents from any banker or banking institution and to act with respect thereto;
6. To have free access at any time or times to any safe deposit box or vault to which the principal might have access, if personally present;
7. To borrow money by bank overdraft, or by promissory note of the principal given for such period and at such interest rate as the agent shall select, to give such security out of the assets of the principal as the agent shall think to be desirable or necessary for any such borrowing, to pay, to renew or to extend the time of payment of any note so given or given by or on behalf of the principal, and to procure for the principal a loan from any banker or banking institution by any other procedure made available by such banker or institution;
8. To make, to assign, to indorse, to discount, to guarantee, and to negotiate, for any and all purposes, all promissory notes, bills of exchange, checks, drafts or other negotiable or non-negotiable paper of the principal, or payable to the principal or to his order, to receive the cash or other proceeds of any such transactions, to accept any bill of exchange or draft drawn by any person upon the principal, and to pay it when due;
9. To receive for the principal and to deal in and to deal with any trust receipt, warehouse receipt or other negotiable or non-negotiable instrument, in which the principal has or claims to have an interest;
10. To apply for and to receive letters of credit or travelers checks from any banker or banking institution selected by the agent, giving such indemnity or other agreements in connection therewith as the agent shall think to be desirable or necessary;
11. To consent to an extension in the time of payment with respect to any commercial paper or any banking transaction in which the principal has an interest or by which the principal is, or might be, affected in any way;
12. To pay, to compromise or to contest taxes or assessments and to apply for refunds in connection therewith;
13. To demand, to receive, to obtain by action, proceeding, or otherwise any money or other thing of value to which the principal is, or may become, or may claim to be entitled as the proceeds of any banking transaction conducted by the principal himself, or by the agent in the execution of any of the powers described in this section, or partly by the principal and partly by the agent so acting, to conserve, to invest, to disburse or to utilize anything so received for purposes enumerated in this section, and to reimburse the agent for any expenditures properly made by him in the execution of the powers conferred upon him by the statutory short form power of attorney;
14. To execute, to acknowledge, to seal and to deliver any instrument of any kind, in the name of the principal or otherwise, which the agent may think useful for the accomplishment of any of the purposes enumerated in this section;
15. To prosecute, to defend, to submit to alternative dispute resolution, to settle, and to propose or to accept a compromise with respect to, any claim existing in favor of, or against, the principal based on or involving any banking transaction or to intervene in any action or proceeding relating thereto;
16. To hire, to discharge, and to compensate any attorney, accountant, expert witness or other assistant or assistants when the agent shall think such action to be desirable for the proper execution by him of any of the powers described in this section, and for the keeping of needed records thereof; and
17. In general, and in addition to all the specific acts in this section enumerated, to do any other act or acts, which the principal can do through an agent, in connection with any banking transaction which does or might in any way affect the financial or other interests of the principal.
18. If a power of attorney requires that two or more agents act together as co-agents, one or more agents may delegate to the co-agent the authority to conduct banking transactions if the principal initialed subject (o) in the grant of authority provisions of paragraph (f) of the statutory short form set forth in section 15-1513 of this title.

All powers described in this section 5-1502D of the general obligations law shall be exercisable equally with respect to any banking transaction engaged in by the principal at the giving of the power of attorney or thereafter engaged in, and whether conducted in the state of New York or elsewhere.