Montana Code 72-31-309. When power of attorney effective
72-31-309. When power of attorney effective. (1) A power of attorney is effective when executed unless the principal provides in the power of attorney that it becomes effective at a future date or upon the occurrence of a future event or contingency.
Terms Used In Montana Code 72-31-309
- Incapacity: means inability of an individual to manage property or business affairs because the individual:
(a)has an impairment in the ability to receive and evaluate information or make or communicate decisions even with the use of technological assistance; or
(b)is:
(i)missing; or
(ii)outside the United States and unable to return. See Montana Code 72-31-302
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 72-31-302
- 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
- Power of attorney: means a writing or other record that grants authority to an agent to act in the place of the principal, whether or not the term power of attorney is used. See Montana Code 72-31-302
- Principal: means an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of attorney. See Montana Code 72-31-302
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Montana Code 72-31-302
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the occurrence of a future event or contingency, the principal, in the power of attorney, may authorize one or more persons to determine in a writing or other record that the event or contingency has occurred.
(3)If a power of attorney becomes effective upon the principal’s incapacity and the principal has not authorized a person to determine whether the principal is incapacitated or the person authorized is unable or unwilling to make the determination, the power of attorney becomes effective upon a determination in a writing or other record by:
(a)a physician that the principal is incapacitated within the meaning of 72-31-302(5)(a); or
(b)an attorney at law, a judge, or an appropriate governmental official that the principal is incapacitated within the meaning of 72-31-302(5)(b).
(4)A person authorized by the principal in the power of attorney to determine that the principal is incapacitated may act as the principal’s personal representative pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, sections 1171 through 1179 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1320d, et seq., and applicable regulations to obtain access to the principal’s health care information and communicate with the principal’s health care provider.