North Carolina § 32C-1-118 - Agent's resignation; notice.

§ 32C-1-118. Agent's resignation; notice.

Unless the power of attorney provides a different method for an agent's resignation, an agent may resign by giving written notice of resignation to the following: To the principal if the principal is not incapacitated. If the principal is incapacitated, to (i) the guardian of the principal's estate, the guardian of the principal's person, or general guardian, if one has been appointed, and (ii) any coagent or, if none, the successor agent next designated. History (2017-153, s. 1.) NORTH CAROLINA COMMENT This section providing a default procedure for specific methods for an agent's resignation is new to North Carolina power of attorney law although provisions for resignation were permitted under former G.S. 32A-12(a). This section modified Section 118 of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act as follows: (i) It clarified that the notice of the resignation must be in writing. (ii) It substituted references to "the guardian of the principal's estate or guardian of the principal's person or general guardian" for the words "conservator or guardian". (iii) It omitted subdivision (2) of Section 118 of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act providing that if notice could not be given to others described in this section, it could be given to the principal's caretaker, another person reasonably believed to have sufficient interest in the principal's welfare, or a governmental agency having authority to protect the welfare of the principal. The drafters are of the opinion that the following portions of the Official Comment to this section are relevant: Section 118 provides a default procedure for an agent's resignation. An agent who no longer wishes to serve should formally resign in order to establish a clear demarcation of the end of the agent's authority and to minimize gaps in fiduciary responsibility before a successor accepts the office. If the principal still has capacity when the agent wishes to resign, this section requires only that the agent give notice to the principal. If, however, the principal is incapacitated, the agent must, in addition to giving notice to the principal, give notice as set forth in paragraphs (1) or (2). However, in the last sentence of this paragraph of the Official Comment the words ", in addition to giving notice to the principal," should be disregarded and reference to "paragraphs (1) and (2)" should be understood to refer to subdivision (2) of G.S. 32C-1-118. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-153, s. 3, provides, in part: "The Revisor of Statutes shall cause to be printed, as annotations to the published General Statutes, all relevant portions of the Official Comments to the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (2006) and all explanatory comments of the drafters of this act as the Revisor may deem appropriate."