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New State Power-of-Attorney Law in Effect
Effective July 1, 2010, the Virginia General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act governing the appointment of agents acting under powers of attorney. The act is modeled after the Uniform Power of Attorney Act developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
The VRS Durable Power of Attorney (VRS-901) 
43kb has been updated to reflect the provisions of the new act, which include the following:
- The act clarifies that a power of attorney is assumed to be durable (that is, still able to be used when the person creating the power of attorney becomes incapacitated), unless stated otherwise.
- Before July 1, 2010, incarcerated felons were considered incapacitated and, therefore, required to appoint an agent under a power of attorney to take actions on their behalf. Effective July 1, 2010, they are no longer considered incapacitated for that purpose. They can appoint an agent but are not required to do so.
- The new act clarifies the duties of agents acting under powers of attorney. In particular, it states that certain duties, such as naming or changing a beneficiary, are prohibited from being performed unless expressly authorized by those who appoint them.
Any actions by agents acting under powers of attorney that occurred before July 1, 2010 may remain in place under the new act. All future actions come under the new act.
Have You Filed a VRS-901?
If you have a VRS-901 on file with VRS, you may want to review the new form to decide if you would like to update your power of attorney. The new form allows you to be more specific about the VRS matters your power of attorney can handle. This form also allows you to select more than one agent to act on your behalf if the primary agent is unable to do so.
