(1) Any person acting without negligence and in good
faith in reasonable reliance on a power of attorney shall not
incur any liability.
(2) If the attorney-in-fact presents the power of attorney
to a third person and requests the person to accept the
attorney-in-fact's authority to act for the principal, and also
presents to the person an acknowledged affidavit or declaration
signed under penalty of perjury in the form designated in RCW 9A.72.085, signed and dated contemporaneously with presenting the
power of attorney, which meets the requirements of subsection (3)
of this section, and the person accepting the power of attorney
has examined the power of attorney and confirmed the identity of
the attorney-in-fact, then the person's reliance on the power of
attorney is presumed to be without negligence and in good faith
in reasonable reliance, which presumption may be rebutted by
clear and convincing evidence that the person accepting the power
of attorney knew or should have known that one or more of the
material statements in the affidavit is untrue. It shall not be
found that an organization knew or should have known of
circumstances that would revoke or terminate the power of
attorney or limit or modify the authority of the
attorney-in-fact, unless the individual accepting the power of
attorney on behalf of the organization knew or should have known
of the circumstances.
(3) An affidavit presented pursuant to subsection (2) of
this section shall state that:
(a) The person presenting himself or herself as the
attorney-in-fact and signing the affidavit or declaration is the
person so named in the power of attorney;
(b) If the attorney in fact is named in the power of
attorney as a successor attorney-in-fact, the circumstances or
conditions stated in the power of attorney that would cause that
person to become the acting attorney-in-fact have occurred;
(c) To the best of the attorney-in-fact's knowledge, the
principal is still alive;
(d) To the best of the attorney-in-fact's knowledge, at the
time the power of attorney was signed, the principal was
competent to execute the document and was not under undue
influence to sign the document;
(e) All events necessary to making the power of attorney
effective have occurred;
(f) The attorney-in-fact does not have actual knowledge of
the revocation, termination, limitation, or modification of the
power of attorney or of the attorney-in-fact's authority;
(g) The attorney-in-fact does not have actual knowledge of
the existence of other circumstances that would limit, modify,
revoke, or terminate the power of attorney or the
attorney-in-fact's authority to take the proposed action;
(h) If the attorney-in-fact was married to the principal at
the time of execution of the power of attorney, then at the time
of signing the affidavit or declaration, the marriage of the
principal and the attorney-in-fact has not been dissolved or
declared invalid; and
(i) The attorney-in-fact is acting in good faith pursuant to
the authority given under the power of attorney.
(4) Unless the document contains a time limit, the length of
time which has elapsed from its date of execution shall not
prevent a party from reasonably relying on the document.
(5) Unless the document contains a requirement that it be
filed for record to be effective, a person may place reasonable
reliance on it regardless of whether it is so filed.
[2001 c 203 § 2; 1985 c 30 § 28. Prior: 1984 c 149 § 29.]
NOTES:
Short title -- Application -- Purpose -- Severability -- 1985 c 30: See RCW 11.02.900 through 11.02.903.
Severability -- Effective dates -- 1984 c 149: See notes following RCW 11.02.005.