The Boston Estate Planning Council Board of Directors recently voted to support an amendment to Massachusetts law governing powers of attorney to clarify that agents acting under a durable general power of attorney have the capacity to create a trust, if expressly authorized by the settlor. This had been the general understanding of practitioners until a 2022 SJC decision cast doubt on the practice, leading the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys to mount a legislative response. With significant assistance from BEPC’s Legislative Committee along with involvement by the Boston Bar Association and the Mass Bar Association, we reached consensus on modifying the relevant statute and have submitted this language to the state legislature to hopefully adopt this legislative session. According to BEPC’s Legislative Committee, “if passed, this would not only restore clarity to the law regarding powers of attorney but would also validate the collective efforts of all of the involved organizations in bringing about desired legislative changes.”
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