Kansas Statutes 58-656. Duties of attorney in fact; relation of attorney in fact to court-appointed fiduciary; death of principal
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 58-656
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
- Conservator: means an individual or corporation appointed by the court to act on behalf of a conservatee and possessed of some or all of the powers and duties set out in Kan. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means an individual or a nonprofit corporation certified in accordance with Kan. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
- 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 Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(a) An attorney in fact who elects to act under a power of attorney is under a duty to act in the interest of the principal and to avoid conflicts of interest that impair the ability of the attorney in fact so to act. A person who is appointed an attorney in fact under a power of attorney who undertakes to exercise the authority conferred in the power of attorney, has a fiduciary obligation to exercise the powers conferred in the best interests of the principal, and to avoid self-dealing and conflicts of interest, as in the case of a trustee with respect to the trustee’s beneficiary or beneficiaries. The attorney in fact shall keep a record of receipts, disbursements and transactions made on behalf of the principal and shall not comingle funds or assets of the principal with the funds or assets of the attorney in fact. In the absence of explicit authorization, the attorney in fact shall exercise a high degree of care in maintaining, without modification, any estate plan which the principal may have in place, including, but not limited to, arrangements made by the principal for disposition of assets at death through beneficiary designations, ownership by joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety, trust arrangements or by will or codicil. Unless otherwise provided in the power of attorney or in a separate agreement between the principal and attorney in fact, an attorney in fact who elects to act shall exercise the authority granted in a power of attorney with that degree of care that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property and conducting the affairs of another, except that all investments made on or after July 1, 2003, shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas uniform prudent investor act, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 58-24a01 et seq., and amendments thereto. If the attorney in fact has special skills or was appointed attorney in fact on the basis of representations of special skills or expertise, the attorney in fact has a duty to use those skills in the principal’s behalf.
(b) On matters undertaken or to be undertaken in the principal’s behalf and to the extent reasonably possible under the circumstances, an attorney in fact has a duty to keep in regular contact with the principal, to communicate with the principal and to obtain and follow the instructions of the principal.
(c) If, following execution of a durable power of attorney, a court of the principal’s domicile appoints a conservator, guardian of the estate or other fiduciary charged with the management of all of the principal’s property or all of the principal’s property except specified exclusions, the attorney in fact is accountable to the fiduciary as well as to the principal. The fiduciary has the same power to revoke or amend the durable power of attorney that the principal would have had if the principal were not an adult with an impairment in need of a guardian or conservator or both as defined by subsection (a) of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 59-3051, and amendments thereto.
(d) A principal may nominate by a power of attorney, a guardian or conservator, or both, for consideration by the court. If a petition to appoint a guardian or conservator, or both, is filed, the court shall make the appointment in accordance with the principal’s most recent nomination in the power of attorney, so long as the individual nominated is a fit and proper person.
(e) An attorney in fact shall exercise authority granted by the principal in accordance with the instrument setting forth the power of attorney, any modification made therein by the principal or the principal’s legal representative or a court, and the oral and written instructions of the principal, or the written instructions of the principal’s legal representative or a court.
(f) An attorney in fact may be instructed in a power of attorney that the authority granted shall not be exercised until, or shall terminate on, the happening of a future event, condition or contingency, as determined in a manner prescribed in the instrument.
(g) On the death of the principal, the attorney in fact shall follow the instructions of the court, if any, having jurisdiction over the estate of the principal, or any part thereof, and shall communicate with and be accountable to the principal’s personal representative, or if none, the principal’s successors. The attorney in fact shall promptly deliver to and put in the possession and control of the principal’s personal representative or successors, any property of the principal and copies of any records of the attorney in fact relating to transactions undertaken in the principal’s behalf that are deemed by the personal representative or the court to be necessary or helpful in the administration of the decedent‘s estate.
(h) If an attorney in fact has a property or contract interest in the subject of the power of attorney or the authority of the attorney in fact is otherwise coupled with an interest in a person other than the principal, this section does not impose any duties on the attorney in fact that would conflict or be inconsistent with that interest.