Beginning October 1, 2010, a new Power of Attorney law will go into effect to protect those who live in the State of Maryland. You can get more info here on the officials who helped design and implement the new law.

T Jeremy Loomis, of Wells Fargo, shared this information with me, and that the State of Maryland stated the purpose of this new law is an effort to “protect principals from misuse from various parties.  New specific statutory language will need to be included in all Maryland POAs.”

Jeremy also shared with me a sample new power of attorney that a title company partner sent to him.

My title company partner, David Kramer, who is an attorney and runs Castle Title, today said that one of the major differences is that the new power of attorneys (POA) needs two witnesses, one of whom can be the notary signing the document.

The good news is that he states that POA’s in effect prior to October 1, 2010 are grandfathered in with this law, so changes do not need to be made on those to be compliant. You will want to check with your attorney, or contact David to be certain as to whether yours would be grandfathered.

If you are buying or selling a home in Maryland, and must use a power of attorney for any reason, make sure you are check their website and are aware of the new laws and verbiage that needs to be a part of settlement.

Contact me for more information about how to sell a home in Maryland with a power of attorney.