There are two Q&As on this site regarding the ability of a personal representative to add an authorized signer to an estate checking account. John Burnett said on 8/15/05 that the general rule was no, as the PR generally can't share the responsibilities of the position unless the document granting the PR's authority specifically allows for such delegation. Randy Carey on 9/7/15 just said no, a PR can't delegate authority to anyone.

It appears to me that the default position is that a PR has sufficient authority to add authorized signers so long as such authorized signers are acting as agents of the PR, unless the document granting the PR's authority specifically limits such authority (based on the reasoning below). Is there something in the Uniform Probate Code or banking regulations that I'm missing?

Maine uses the Uniform Probate Code (slightly modified), so I presume that what I'm reading is pretty similar to what applies in many other states. Under the code, the PR has statutory authority to "employ one or more agents to perform any act of administration, whether or not discretionary." The PR is also described as "a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees." Maine also uses the Uniform Trust Code (slightly modified), which states that a trustee "may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances" to an agent, who would have a duty of reasonable care. Taken together, it sounds like adding an agent of the PR as an authorized signer would be fine.

You have borrowed your Display Name from a famous legal mind.

I will suggest that a bank, before accepting such an agency appointment, discuss the issue with qualified bank counsel. Many states allow fiduciaries to engage the services of a professionals (accountant, tax advisor, attorney) to act on behalf of a trust, estate or other fiduciary arrangement. But the language of the law in many of those states can't be stretched to permit a fiduciary to palm off his routine fiduciary duties -- managing the trust, marshaling estate assets for sale, etc. -- to a non-professional "agent."

What you don't want to do is enable a fiduciary whose goal is to drop responsibilities in someone else's lap without authority to do so. Trustees who don't want to be trustees can resign in favor of successors. Personal representatives of estates can petition the probate court to appoint a new personal representative, Etc.

You may have stated the case correctly for Maine. But I can't recommend that anyone in another state assume that the same analysis applies there.

Thanks for the reply!

I started using Learned Hand as my on-line handle during law school, and have used it ever since. Sometimes someone else has already taken it, in which case I usually use Learned Han (I like the Star Wars connotation) or Learned Hands (which makes me sound like I do Swedish massage or something, but I can live with that).

As for the substance of your response, I get what you're saying, and would definitely take this to outside counsel with more expertise in probate law before putting anything into practice. I was just wondering if there was something I was missing that would make this a non-starter, especially based on how definitive Randy Carey's Q&A response was. It sounds like there isn't, so I'll see if the higher-ups think enough of this specific PR to be willing to pay for outside counsel's opinion rather than just saying no. Thanks again!

This actually has come up a number of times for us. We have branches with a heavy legal business presence who tend to do whatever an attorney asks. The lawyers liked to have the executors sign over POA to them. We finally had to have our legal dept and branch admin tell them they can't add a POA onto an estate account. Our Legal Dept has also stated that co-executors/administrators must all sign (language on short certificate varies from naming execs with "and" between the names and just listing them in a column so they made the determination that all names must sign (unless they provide a signed (notarized) statement from all authoring each to act separately and holding the bank harmless.