3-501. Effect of death upon power of attorney given by persons engaged in certain occupations. 1. No agency created by a power of attorney in writing given by a principal who is at the time of execution, or who, after executing such power of attorney, becomes, either
a. a person serving in the armed forces of the United States, or
b. a person serving as a merchant seaman outside the continental limits of the United States; or
c. a person outside such continental limits by permission, assignment or direction of any department or official of the United States government, in connection with any activity pertaining to or connected with the prosecution of any war or any campaign of a military nature in which the armed forces of the United States are participating or have been ordered to participate; shall be revoked or terminated by the death of the principal as to the attorney-in-fact, agent or other person who, without actual knowledge or actual notice of the death of the principal shall have acted or shall act, in good faith, under or in reliance upon such power of attorney or agency, and any action so taken, unless otherwise invalid or unenforceable, shall be binding on the heirs, devisees, legatees or personal representatives of the principal.
2. An affidavit, executed by the attorney-in-fact or agent, setting forth that he has not or had not, at the time of doing any act pursuant to the power of attorney, received actual knowledge or actual notice of revocation or termination of the power of attorney, by death or otherwise, or notice of any facts indicating the same, shall, in the absence of fraud, be conclusive proof of the nonrevocation or nontermination of the power at such time. If the exercise of the power requires execution and delivery of any instrument which is recordable under the laws of this state, such affidavit when authenticated for record in the manner prescribed by law shall likewise be recordable.
3. No report or listing, either official or otherwise, of "missing" or "missing in action", as such words are used in military parlance, shall constitute or be interpreted as constituting actual knowledge or actual notice of the death of such principal or notice of any facts indicating the same, or shall operate to revoke the agency.
4. This section shall not be construed so as to alter or affect any provision for revocation or termination contained in such power of attorney.
5. If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provision or application of the section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are declared to be severable.
Last modified: February 3, 2019