Senate BillIntroduced
S 4549: Requires principals to make a good faith effort to identify and notify co-trustees and co-beneficiaries of the signing of a power of attorney including the identity of the agent where the agent is not a co-trustee or co-beneficiary.
What S 4549 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill requires principals and beneficiaries to notify other trustees and beneficiaries of the signing of a power of attorney, which affects a trust. This notification is necessary when the agent assigned to the power of attorney is not a co-trustee or co-beneficiary. The principal must make a good faith effort to identify and notify all other co-trustees or co-beneficiaries. If the principal cannot identify or contact a co-beneficiary after making good faith efforts, they must attest to the efforts made. The notification must include the name of the person assigned as the principal's agent. The notification requirement takes effect 30 days after the bill becomes a law.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO JUDICIARY (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 4549
- What is the current status of S 4549?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 4549 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO JUDICIARY".
- Did S 4549 pass?
- Not yet. S 4549 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 4549, and where is it now?
- S 4549 was authored by Sen. James Skoufis. Its committee of record is Senate Judiciary.
Author and sponsors
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| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO JUDICIARY |
| Jun. 13, 2025 | COMMITTED TO RULES |
| Mar. 13, 2025 | ADVANCED TO THIRD READING |
| Mar. 12, 2025 | 2ND REPORT CAL. |
| Mar. 11, 2025 | 1ST REPORT CAL.542 |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 6, 2025 · 322 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4549 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the general obligations law, in relation to requiring principals and beneficiaries to notify co-trustees and co-beneficiar- ies of the signing of a power of attorney The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new 2 section 5-1515 to read as follows: 3 § 5-1515. Duty to notify other trustees and beneficiaries. 1. When a 4 principal, who is a trustee of a trust, signs a power of attorney which 5 allows the agent to affect such trust and the agent is not a co-trustee 6 of such trust, the principal shall make a good faith effort to identify 7 and notify in writing all other co-trustees of the signing of a power of 8 attorney and identify the person assigned as the principal's agent. 9 2. When a principal, who is a beneficiary of a trust, signs a power of 10 attorney and the agent is not a co-beneficiary of such trust, the prin- 11 cipal shall notify in writing all other co-beneficiaries of the signing 12 of a power of attorney and identify the person assigned as the princi- 13 pal's agent. If the principal cannot identify or contact a co-benefici- 14 ary after good faith efforts were made, the principal must attest to the 15 efforts made to identify and/or contact co-beneficiaries. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 17 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08773-01-5
Text of S 4549 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions