Misuse of Power of Attorney - Part 2
As Powers of Attorney have become more easily accessible, there has been an increase in their misuse. This CLE will further explore the ways abuse can occur during and after the creation of the Power of Attorney pursuant to GOL Article 5-1500 et seq, the ways to obtain relief against an agent during principal’s lifetime (in Supreme Court via MHL Article 81 Guardianship Proceeding) and after principal’s death (in Surrogate’s Court), the ways to recover property converted by the agent who has misused the Power of Attorney (MHL 81.43 and/or SCPA 2103, 2014, and 2105), and ways to prevent or mitigate misuse of a power of attorney.

Convenience vs. Joint Accounts or Have You Ever Met a Convenience Account? - Part 3 
When opening a bank account where the depositor desires to give another person the ability to sign checks or otherwise make withdrawals from that account, New York law gives the depositor three effective options:

Open the account as a joint account governed by section 675 of the Banking Law;
Open the account as a convenience account governed by section 678 of the Banking Law; or
Open the account in the depositor’s sole name and execute a Durable Power of Attorney that appoints the other person as the agent of the depositor and initial the “banking transaction” portion of the POA form.

This CLE program will explore the legal issues of proceeding under each of these options, why the conflict between the law and the intentions of depositors has generated an inordinate amount of litigation, provide a view from the bench of how those conflicts are best addressed, and explain a proposal which the presenters believe will reduce (if not eliminate) those conflicts and, with it, the potential for abuse of joint accounts.