I've read there are no laws governing authorized signers in Kentucky. My bank attorney states that all rights of POA and authorized signers dies with the customer. If this is correct, I need some statute to send to our forms provider since I've discovered that on our account agreements, it says that the authorized signer can continue to write checks and make deposits after their death. H E L P! I asked the attorney for a letter with the statute but still have received nothing.

I think this may be more of a contract issue. Your attorney is right. If a customer dies and they have a POA, the POA rights end at the death of the customer.

I do believe that a POA and an authorized signer are two completly different titles even though they are closely related. An authorized signer's rights would be spelled out within the contract, while a POA's rights would be spelled out in a legal document prepared by an attorney.

I don't know if this will help or not, but maybe it is a start. If you find out anything different, please post because I would be interested in knowing.

Your attorney is correct, but he or she is not going to be able to cite you to anything in the KRS that says a POA or its weaker cousin, the authorized signer ends with the death of the principal. It's just a fundamental precept of the law of agency; i.e. if the principal is dead the AIF or agent could not possibly be getting instructions from him anymore (unless Shirley Maclaine is somehow involved).

Your forms vendor is wrong, but it is not up to you to prove it to them. If there is something in your forms that is this blatantly incorrect, I suggest you shop for a new vendor instead of incurring attorney's fees to prove them wrong.

I know this is an old thread, but I'm going to tack on if you don't mind.

Our bank has recently gone to paperless transfers. A customer will call in and a CSR will transfer funds for them without writing tickets. I now review the reports and to state it's becoming difficult is an understatement.

Recently we had an authorized signer transfer money from that account to a joint account with he and another person. The last names are the same, but I'm unsure as to his rights to do that. Can anyone point me to the state law on this issue?

Thank you!

As mentioned above, there is no state law governing the boundaries of an agency relationship in Kentucky. We have banking customs and general understandings, but nothing in writing that says you are right or wrong. If your bank wants the agent's responsibilities to be clear and agreed upon then you would have to develop a disclosure of sorts and get the parties, particularly the principal, to sign it.