South Carolina § 62-8-201 - Authority that requires specific grant; grant of general authority.

§ 62-8-201. Authority that requires specific grant; grant of general authority.

(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 62-8-204 through 62-8-217, an agent under a power of attorney may do the following on behalf of the principal or with the principal's property only if the power of attorney expressly grants the agent the authority and exercise of the authority is not otherwise prohibited by another agreement or instrument to which the authority or property is subject:

(1) create, amend, revoke, or terminate a trust, pursuant to Section 62-7-602A;

(2) make a gift;

(3) create or change rights of survivorship;

(4) create or change a beneficiary designation;

(5) delegate authority granted under the power of attorney;

(6) waive the principal's right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity, including a survivor benefit under a retirement plan;

(7) exercise fiduciary powers that the principal has authority to delegate;

(8) disclaim property, including a power of appointment;

(9) access a safe deposit box or vault leased by the principal;

(10) exercise a power of appointment in favor of someone other than the principal;

(11) reject, renounce, disclaim, release, or consent to a reduction in or modification of a share in or payment from an estate, trust, or other beneficial interest; or

(12) deal with commodity futures contracts and call or put options on stocks or stock indexes.

(b) Notwithstanding a grant of authority to do an act described in subsection (a), unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, only an agent who is an ancestor, spouse, or descendant of the principal, may exercise authority under a power of attorney to create in the agent, or in an individual to whom the agent owes a legal obligation of support, an interest in the principal's property, whether by gift, right of survivorship, beneficiary designation, disclaimer, or otherwise.

(c) Except as to those acts enumerated in subsection (a) and subject to subsections (b), (d), and (e), if a power of attorney grants to an agent authority to do all acts that a principal could do, the agent has the general authority described in Sections 62-8-204 through 62-8-216.

(d) Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, a grant of authority to make a gift is subject to Section 62-8-217.

(e) Except as to those acts enumerated in subsection (a) and subject to subsections (b) and (d), if the acts over which authority is granted in a power of attorney are similar or overlap, the broadest authority controls.

(f) Authority granted in a power of attorney is exercisable with respect to property that the principal has when the power of attorney is executed or acquires later, whether or not the property is located in this State and whether or not the authority is exercised or the power of attorney is executed in this State.

(g) An act performed by an agent pursuant to a power of attorney has the same effect and inures to the benefit of and binds the principal and the principal's successors in interest as if the principal had performed the act.

HISTORY: 2016 Act No. 279 (S.778), SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2017.