J. Rodney Johnson *
In response to a multi-year project of the Virginia Bar Association‘s (“VBA’s”) Section on Wills, Trusts, and Estates, the 2009 General Assembly enacted the Virginia Uniform Power of Attorney Act (“UPOAA”) in order to significantly update and clarify existing Virginia law related to durable powers of attorney and to make the same more uniform with that found in other jurisdictions. Thereafter, the Chair of the VBA‘s Drafting Committee, Andrew H. Hook, and his associate, Lisa V. Johnson, presented a thorough overview of this legislation in this publication‘s 2009 Annual Survey of Virginia Law. As the 2009 passage of the UPOAA was made subject to a reenactment clause, this legislation was also introduced into and enacted by the 2010 Session. Although the 2010 UPOAA is largely the same as the 2009 version, it does contain some important changes. The present writer is indebted to Mr. Hook and Ms. Johnson, the authors of the 2009 article, for contributing the following text to explain these 2010 changes in the context of their original 2009 article.
*Professor of Law, Emeritus, University of Richmond School of Law.