Public Act 103-0994
 
SB3421 EnrolledLRB103 37783 JRC 67912 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Power of Attorney Act is amended 
by changing Section 2-8 as follows:
 
    (755 ILCS 45/2-8)  (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 802-8)
    Sec. 2-8. Reliance on document purporting to establish an 
agency. 
    (a) Any person who acts in good faith reliance on a copy of 
a document purporting to establish an agency will be fully 
protected and released to the same extent as though the 
reliant had dealt directly with the named principal as a 
fully-competent person. The named agent shall furnish an 
affidavit or Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority 
to the reliant on demand stating that the instrument relied on 
is a true copy of the agency and that, to the best of the named 
agent's knowledge, the named principal is alive and the 
relevant powers of the named agent have not been altered or 
terminated; but good faith reliance on a document purporting 
to establish an agency will protect the reliant without the 
affidavit or Agent's Certification and Acceptance of 
Authority.
    (b) Upon request, the named agent in a power of attorney 
shall furnish an Agent's Certification and Acceptance of 
Authority to the reliant in substantially the following form:
 
AGENT'S CERTIFICATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF AUTHORITY 

 
    I, .......... (insert name of agent), certify that the 
attached is a true copy of a power of attorney naming the 
undersigned as agent or successor agent for ............. 
(insert name of principal).
    I certify that to the best of my knowledge the principal 
had the capacity to execute the power of attorney, is alive, 
and has not revoked the power of attorney; that my powers as 
agent have not been altered or terminated; and that the power 
of attorney remains in full force and effect.
    I accept appointment as agent under this power of 
attorney.
    This certification and acceptance is made under penalty of 
perjury.*
    Dated: ............
....................... 
(Agent's Signature) 
....................... 
(Print Agent's Name) 
....................... 
(Agent's Address) 
    *(NOTE: Perjury is defined in Section 32-2 of the Criminal 
Code of 2012, and is a Class 3 felony.)
 
    (c) Any person dealing with an agent named in a copy of a 
document purporting to establish an agency may presume, in the 
absence of actual knowledge to the contrary, that the document 
purporting to establish the agency was validly executed, that 
the agency was validly established, that the named principal 
was competent at the time of execution, and that, at the time 
of reliance, the named principal is alive, the agency was 
validly established and has not terminated or been amended, 
the relevant powers of the named agent were properly and 
validly granted and have not terminated or been amended, and 
the acts of the named agent conform to the standards of this 
Act. No person relying on a copy of a document purporting to 
establish an agency shall be required to see to the 
application of any property delivered to or controlled by the 
named agent or to question the authority of the named agent.
    (d) Each person to whom a direction by the named agent in 
accordance with the terms of the copy of the document 
purporting to establish an agency is communicated shall comply 
with that direction, and any person who fails to comply 
arbitrarily or without reasonable cause shall be subject to 
civil liability for any damages resulting from noncompliance. 
A health care provider who complies with Section 4-7 shall not 
be deemed to have acted arbitrarily or without reasonable 
cause.
    (e) Unreasonable cause to refuse to honor. It shall be 
deemed unreasonable for a third party to refuse to honor an 
Illinois statutory short form power of attorney for property 
properly executed in accordance with the laws in effect at the 
time of its execution, if the only reason for the refusal is 
any of or more than one of the following: (1) the power of 
attorney is not on a form the third party receiving such power 
prescribes, regardless of any form the terms of any account 
agreement between the principal and third party requires; (2) 
there has been a lapse of time since the execution of the power 
of attorney; (3) on the face of the statutory short form power 
of attorney, there is a lapse of time between the date of 
acknowledgment of the signature of the principal and the date 
of the acceptance by the agent; (4) the document provided does 
not bear an original signature, original witness, or original 
notarization but is accompanied by a properly executed Agent's 
Certification and Acceptance of Authority, Successor Agent's 
Certification and Acceptance of Authority, or Co-Agent's 
Certification and Acceptance of Authority bearing the original 
signature of the named agent; or (5) the document appoints an 
entity as the agent. Nothing in this Section shall be 
interpreted as prohibiting or limiting a third party from 
requiring the named agent to furnish a properly executed 
Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority, Successor 
Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority, or 
Co-Agent's Certification and Acceptance of Authority under 
this Act. 
    (f) Reasonable cause to refuse to honor. Reasons for which 
it shall be deemed reasonable cause for a third party to refuse 
to honor a power of attorney for property include, but are not 
limited to, the following: 
        (1) the refusal by the agent to provide an affidavit 
    or properly executed Agent's Certification and Acceptance 
    of Authority, Successor Agent's Certification and 
    Acceptance of Authority, or Co-Agent's Certification and 
    Acceptance of Authority;
        (2) the refusal by the agent to provide a copy of the 
    original document that is certified to be valid by an 
    attorney, a court order, or governmental entity;
        (3) the person's good faith referral of the principal 
    and the agent or a person acting for or with the agent to 
    the local adult protective services unit;
        (4) actual knowledge or a reasonable basis for 
    believing in the existence of a report having been made by 
    any person to the local adult protective services unit 
    alleging physical or financial abuse, neglect, 
    exploitation, or abandonment of the principal by the agent 
    or a person acting for the agent;
        (5) actual knowledge of the principal's death or a 
    reasonable basis for believing the principal has died;
        (6) actual knowledge of the incapacity of the 
    principal or a reasonable basis for believing the 
    principal is incapacitated if the power of attorney 
    tendered is a nondurable power of attorney; 
        (7) actual knowledge or a reasonable basis for 
    believing that the principal was incapacitated at the time 
    the power of attorney was executed;
        (8) actual knowledge or a reasonable basis for 
    believing:
     (A) the power of attorney was procured through 
    fraud, duress, or undue influence, or (B) the agent is 
    engaged in fraud or abuse of the principal;
        (9) actual notice of the termination or revocation of 
    the power of attorney or a reasonable basis for believing 
    that the power of attorney has been terminated or revoked;
        (10) the refusal by a title insurance company to 
    underwrite title insurance for a gift of real property 
    made pursuant to a statutory short form power of attorney 
    that does not contain express instructions or purposes of 
    the principal with respect to gifts in paragraph 3 of the 
    statutory short form power of attorney;
        (11) the refusal of the principal's attorney to 
    provide a certificate that the power of attorney is valid;
        (12) a missing or incorrect signature, an invalid 
    notarization, or an unacceptable power of attorney 
    identification;
        (13) the third party: (A) has filed a suspicious 
    activity report as described by 31 U.S.C. 5318(g) with 
    respect to the principal or agent; (B) believes in good 
    faith that the principal or agent has a prior criminal 
    history involving financial crimes; or (C) has had a 
    previous, unsatisfactory business relationship with the 
    agent due to or resulting in material loss to the third 
    party, financial mismanagement by the agent, or litigation 
    between the third party and the agent alleging substantial 
    damages; or
        (14) the third party has reasonable cause to suspect 
    the abuse, abandonment, neglect, or financial exploitation 
    of the principal, if the principal is an eligible adult 
    under the Adult Protective Services Act. 
(Source: P.A. 96-1195, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)