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PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
Second Special Session of the 121st

PART B

     Sec. B-1. 5 MRSA §17108, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 801, §§5 and 7, is amended to read:

     Sec. B-2. 5 MRSA §17153, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 801, §§5 and 7, is amended to read:

     3. Investment of funds. The board may cause the funds created by this Part to be invested and reinvested in accordance with the standards defined in Title 18-A, section 7-302 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9, subject to periodic approval of the investment program by the board.

     Sec. B-3. 13 MRSA §4106, last ¶, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 550, Pt. C, §5 and affected by §29, is amended to read:

     In the administration of the powers to appropriate appreciation, to make and retain investments and to delegate investment management of institutional funds, trustees of charitable trusts are governed by the standards set forth in Title 18-A, section 7-302 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9.

     Sec. B-4. 18-A MRSA §1-302, sub-§(a), as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

     (a) To the full extent provided in sections 3-105, 5-102, and 5-402, 7-201 and 7-204, the court has jurisdiction over all subject matter relating to (1) estates of decedents, including construction of wills and determination of heirs and successors of decedents and estates of protected persons; (2) protection of minors and incapacitated persons; and (3) trusts.

     Sec. B-5. 18-A MRSA §3-913, sub-§(a), as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. B-6. 18-A MRSA §3-913, sub-§(c), as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

     (c) No inference of negligence on the part of the personal representative shall may be drawn from his the personal representative's failure to exercise the authority conferred by subsections (a) and subsection (b).

     Sec. B-7. 18-A MRSA §5-417, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

§5-417. General duty of conservator

     In the exercise of his the conservator's powers, a conservator is to act as a fiduciary and shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees as described by section 7-302 Title 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9.

     Sec. B-8. 18-A MRSA §5-508, sub-§§(a) and (d), as repealed and replaced by PL 1997, c. 683, Pt. C, §6, are amended to read:

     (a) A durable financial power of attorney is a durable power of attorney by which a principal designates another as attorney-in-fact to make decisions on the principal's behalf in matters concerning the principal's finances, property or both. In the exercise of the powers conferred under a durable financial power of attorney, an attorney-in-fact shall act as a fiduciary under the standards of care applicable to trustees as described by section 7-302 Title 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9.

     (d) A durable financial power of attorney must contain the following language:

"Notice to the Principal: As the "Principal," you are using this Durable Power of Attorney to grant power to another person (called the "Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact") to make decisions about your money, property or both and to use your money, property or both on your behalf. If this written Durable Power of Attorney does not limit the powers that you give your Agent, your Agent will have broad and sweeping powers to sell or otherwise dispose of your property and spend your money without advance notice to you or approval by you. Under this document, your Agent will continue to have these powers after you become incapacitated, and you may also choose to authorize your Agent to use these powers before you become incapacitated. The powers that you give your Agent are explained more fully in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and in Maine case law. You have the right to revoke or take back this Durable Power of Attorney at any time as long as you are of sound mind. If there is anything about this Durable Power of Attorney that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you.
Notice to the Agent: As the "Agent" or "Attorney-in-fact," you are given power under this Durable Power of Attorney to make decisions about the money, property or both belonging to the Principal and to spend the Principal's money, property or both on that person's behalf in accordance with the terms of this Durable Power of Attorney. This Durable Power of Attorney is valid only if the Principal is of sound mind when the Principal signs it. As the Agent, you are under a duty (called a "fiduciary duty") to observe the standards observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of another. The duty is explained more fully in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 18-A, sections 5-501 to 5-508 and 7-302 Title 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9 and in Maine case law. As the Agent, you are not entitled to use the money or property for your own benefit or to make gifts to yourself or others unless the Durable Power of Attorney specifically gives you the authority to do so. As the Agent, your authority under this Durable Power of Attorney will end when the Principal dies and you will not have the authority to administer the estate unless you are authorized to do so in accordance with the Maine Probate Code. If you violate your fiduciary duty under this Durable Power of Attorney, you may be liable for damages and may be subject to criminal prosecution. If there is anything about this Durable Power of Attorney or your duties under it that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you."
This language does not confer powers not otherwise contained in the durable financial power of attorney.

     Sec. B-9. 18-A MRSA §§7-101 to 7-104, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, are repealed.

     Sec. B-10. 18-A MRSA Art. 7, Pt. 2, as amended, is repealed.

     Sec. B-11. 18-A MRSA Art. 7, Pt. 3, as amended, is repealed.

     Sec. B-12. 18-A MRSA §7-401, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. B-13. 18-A MRSA §7-402, as amended by PL 2001, c. 544, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. B-14. 18-A MRSA §§7-403 to 7-406, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, are repealed.

     Sec. B-15. 18-A MRSA §8-304, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

§8-304. Approval of bond by judge

     Except as otherwise provided by section sections 3-603 through to 3-606, 4-204, 4-207, 5-411, 5-412, and 5-432 and 7-304 Title 18-B, section 702, no bond required to be given to the judge of probate or to be filed in the probate office is sufficient until it has been examined by the judge and his the judge's approval has been written thereon.

     Sec. B-16. 18-A MRSA §8-313, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to read:

§8-313. Judicial authorization of actions

     The judge of probate may expressly authorize or instruct a personal representative or other fiduciary, at the judge's discretion or on the complaint of himself or any interested person, to commence an action on the bond for the benefit of the estate. Nothing herein shall may be deemed to limit the power or duty of a successor fiduciary to bring such proceedings as they are authorized to bring without express court authorization under section 3-606, subsection (a), paragraph (4); section 5-412, subsection (a), paragraph (3); Title 18-B, section 7-304 702; or as otherwise provided by law.

     Sec. B-17. 30-A MRSA §5706, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1995, c. 206, §1, is further amended to read:

     4. Safekeeping and investment management agreements. The municipal officers may enter into an agreement with any financial institution with trust powers authorized to do business in the State for the safekeeping of the reserve funds, as defined in section 5801, or trust funds, as defined by section 5653, of the municipality. Services must consist of the safekeeping of the funds, collection of interest and dividends, and any other fiscal service that is normally covered in a safekeeping agreement. Investment of reserve funds or trust funds deposited under a safekeeping agreement may be managed either by the financial institution with which the funds are deposited or by an investment advisor registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers, federal Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental agency or instrumentality with jurisdiction over investment advisors, to act in such capacity pursuant to an investment advisory agreement providing for investment management and periodic review of portfolio investments. Investment of funds on behalf of the municipality under this section are is governed by the rule of prudence, according to Title 18-A, section 7-302 18-B, sections 802 to 807 and chapter 9. The contracting parties shall give assurance of proper safeguards that are usual to these contracts and shall furnish insurance protection satisfactory to both parties.

     Sec. B-18. 36 MRSA §5102, sub-§4, ¶¶B and C, as amended by PL 1991, c. 148, §1, are further amended to read:

     Sec. B-19. 36 MRSA §5102, sub-§4, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 148, §2, is repealed.

     Sec. B-20. Effective date. This Part takes effect July 1, 2005.

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