As I have written before, Maryland now has a statutory power of attorney form, effective October, 2010. While powers of attorney written before the new Maryland law are not necessarily invalid, I do keep hearing that certain financial institutions and real estate settlement attorneys will not now accept old powers of attorney (written and signed before the new law took effect).
While this is not correct interpretation (the new law did not void old powers of attorney, it only said that a financial institution must honor a power of attorney in substantial compliance with the new law), I strongly recommend that everyone sign a new power of attorney that complies with the new Maryland power of attorney form and law. A little bit of caution and cure now may save headaches, hassles and costs later if an old power of attorney is not respected by a financial institution or settlement attorney.