Individuals assume power of attorney once they execute such an agreement and not when the person they are acting as an agent for becomes incapacitated, the Delaware Court of Chancery has ruled. The court issued the decision when it ordered the son of a du Pont heir to provide a forensic accounting of all transactions he conducted on his mother’s behalf beginning on the date the agreement was executed.
“Nothing in the power of attorney indicated its effectiveness would spring from a future event or contingency, and the petitioner accepted his position as agent by exercising nearly complete control over his mother’s finances after the power of attorney was signed,” said Master in Chancery Abigail M. LeGrow.
