 | Maryland Limited (Special) Power of Attorney Form |
The Maryland Limited (Special) Power of Attorney Form is a legal document that allows an individual (referred to as the Principal) to elect another individual (referred to as the Attorney-in-Fact) to act on the Principal’s behalf. As opposed to the much broader authority granted in a general power of attorney form, this document allows the Attorney-in-Fact to act on the Principal’s behalf in certain, specialized circumstances.
Acts such as purchasing property, cashing checks, paying bills, or withdrawing money can all be listed within a limited power of attorney form. Once the document has been completed, it will not be considered genuine, and therefore effective, until it has been signed by the Principal in the presence of a Notary Public and two (2) adult witnesses (§ 17-110(a)(3)). The Notary Public may, in this case, serve as one of the adult witnesses.
How to Write
1 – Preparations
Download this form by selecting the “PDF” button above. Then, download this form to your machine. You may fill this out directly onscreen with an appropriate program or you may print it then fill it out. When it is time to supply the information requested, the Principal must read all of the following titled sections:
- Notice
- Incapacitation
- Revocation
- Witness and Notary
2 – Section V. Principal
Locate the section titled “Principal.” This party is the individual who is granting the power of attorney to another party. Enter the information as follows:
- Enter the “Name of the Principal”on the first line
- Report the current “Street Address of Principal” on the second line
- Supply the “City of Principal” on the third blank space
- Provide the “State of Principal” on the fourth blank space
3 – Section VI Attorney-In-Fact
Locate the section labeled “Attorney-In-Fact.” This section will require a definition to the individual (Agent) who will receive Principal Authority and agree to the responsibility and authority to be invested in him or her by the Principal. Supply the blank spaces with the requested information:
- Fill in the Full “Name of Attorney-in-Fact” on the first blank space
- Enter the “Street Address of Attorney-in-Fact” on the next available space
- Report the “City of Attorney-in-fact” on the first blank space in the third line
- Provide the “State of Attorney-in-fact” on the second blank space in the third line
- Indicate in which State the Agent or Attorney-in-Fact may utilize this document to act with Principal Authority
- Locate the term “Fact is.” Here, the Principal must provide a “Detailed Description of Exact Powers granted.” This should be as specific as possible. Here, the Principal should list the level of disclosure an Agent should be afforded, what actions the Agent may take, in what matters the Agent may take such actions, and any other facts that should be documented. The Agent will be able to act with Principal Authority precisely as it is listed here.
4 – Section VII Successor Attorney-in-Fact (Optional)
A Successor Attorney-in-Fact is a third party who will act as the Attorney-in-Fact if the Attorney-in-Fact cannot fulfill the responsibilities set forth by the Principal and/or is wholly unavailable. While not every Principal will name a Successor Attorney-in-Fact, those who cannot have a lapse in action occur with the matters named may view this as a wise precaution. If there is a Successor Attorney-in-Fact, his or her information must be supplied as requested in the section “Successor Attorney-In-Fact”
- In the first blank space supple the “Name of the Successor Attorney-in-Fact.”
- An up-to-date “Street Address of the Successor Attorney-in-Fact” must be supplied on the second line
- Next on the third and fourth blank spaces enter the “City of Successor Attorney-in-Fact” and the “State of Successor Attorney-in-Fact”
- On the blank space following the words “…law in the State of,” report the State where this document will be considered valid and legal
- Locate the statement beginning with the words “The Specific financial act…” then use the blank line following it to enter a “Detailed Description of Exact Powers Granted” to the Successor Attorney-in-Fact
5 – Section XII Principal Signature
The Principal must review all additional titled sections as follows:
- Terms and Conditions
- Third Parties
- Compensation
- Disclosure
Once these items have been read and the entire form reviewed for Principal approval. This may only be given by Signature in the presence of two witnesses and the notary public attending the signing.
- The Principal must supply his or her Name in Print on the first blank line (“Printed Name of Principal”).
- The Calendar Date of signing must be supplied using the second and third blank spaces. The Calendar Day (1-31) must be reported on the blank line labeled “Day” while the Month and Year must be supplied on the blank line labeled “Month.”
- The Principal must sign his or her name on the blank line labeled “Signature of Principal”
6 – Section XIII Attorney-in-Fact’s Signature
The Attorney-in-Fact must read the Acknowledgment Paragraph in this section and supply the requested items:
- The Agent or Attorney-in-Fact must print his or her name on the first blank space
- The Agent or Attorney-in-Fact must provide a Signature on the blank line labeled “Signature of Attorney-in-Fact”
- On the space designated as “Date,” the Agent or Attorney-in-Fact must provide the date he or she signed this document
7 – Section XIV Successor Attorney-in-Fact’s Signature
If an a Successor Attorney-in-Fact has been designated in this document, then he or she should read the Acknowledgement Paragraph in this section and provide the requested items int he appropriate areas:
- The Successor Attorney-in-Fact should print his or her full name on the space labeled “Name of Successor Attorney-in-Fact”
- The Successor Attorney-in-Fact should sign the space labeled “Signature of Successor Attorney-in-Fact” then enter the “Date” of Signature on the next space.
8 – Witness Attestation
Witnesses should read all of the information provided:
- Each Witness must Print his or her name on one of the blank spaces in this paragraph
- Each Witness must Sign his or her Name on one of the the blank lines below the paragraph. Preferably, on the signature line on the same side of the paragraph their name appears.
9 – Notary Acknowledgement
Once the Notary has witnessed all of the signatures, they must enter all of the required information to acknowledge the document
10 – Acknowledgement and Acceptance of Appointment as Attorney-in-Fact
This area of the document will contain an Acceptance of Appointment Paragraph. Here the Attorney-in-Fact will formally accept the responsibilities accompanying the power of authority being provided in this paperwork. It is imperative the Attorney-in-Fact supply the required items:
- The printed name of the Attorney-in-Fact must be presented on the first blank space.
- The Signature of the Attorney-in-Fact must be performed on the second blank space
- The Attorney-in-Fact must date his or her signature in mm/dd/yyyy format on the next blank space
11 – Acceptance of Appointment As Successor Attorney-in-Fact
If a Successor Attorney-in-Fact has been appointed through this document, then he or she must formally Accept the responsibilities this document will assign by supplying the following items in the Acceptance of Appointment Paragraph
- On the first space, the Successor Attorney-in-Fact must print his or her Name
- The Successor Attorney-in-Fact must sign his or her name on the signature line at the end of this paragraph
- The Successor Attorney-in-Fact should date his or her signature on the next blank space.
