Last month, the U.S. Postal Service introduced new requirements to forward mail. Under the new requirements, someone can forward his or her mail at a post office or online.
Someone forwarding mail at a post office must identify themselves. The required ID can be a current driver’s license that includes the old or new address.
Without a driver’s license, the person can use an alternative photo ID (i.e. passport), but without a driver’s license, the person must also present a separate ID that includes the person’s old or new address, like a utility bill, lease or deed.
If someone seeks to forward mail online, that person must now register a mobile phone number to receive a texted passcode that is entered online. An online mail forwarder must also register a credit card with a billing address that is the old or new address. The credit card is then charged $1.10 as an “identification fee” to allow the Postal Service to confirm the card’s billing address.
If someone seeks to forward mail online and cannot satisfy the two (2) requirements above, the person must make a physical trip to a post office to forward his or her mail.
This change by the Postal Service is a symptom of today’s technological changes. In many instances, it has become easier to commit crime electronically than in-person. Otherwise stated, as much as technology tries to improve life, technology can also prompt returns to the traditional methods of living life, just because of certain new opportunities for abuse that technology presents.
This recent Postal Service change has also directly and immediately affected people’s powers of attorney (POA). A POA is a document that authorizes someone (an agent) to act and make decisions for another person (the principal).
POAs typically include broad language granting the principal’s decision-making power/authority to the agent and sometimes also grants some detailed or specific (legally called “explicit”) authorities/powers to the agent.
If an agent wants to forward the principal’s mail, that agent obviously cannot satisfy the identification requirements set forth above, because the principal’s ID obviously identifies the principal, not the agent.
Therefore, the Postal Service has created a list of requirements for an agent to forward a principal’s mail.
For an agent to forward a principal’s mail, the agent must identify himself or herself as if the agent is forwarding the agent’s own mail. The agent must also present a valid, properly signed (either with a notary or witnesses) POA that authorizes the agent to forward the principal’s mail.
This seems simple enough. However, most POAs do not include the explicit power to forward the principal’s mail. Several of our clients have recently tried to forward mail for principals using POAs that do not explicitly empower the agent to forward the principal’s mail. The Postal Service rejected those forwarding requests due to the POAs’ lack of explicit authority to forward mail.
Thus, it is strongly advisable to create a POA or update your POA to explicitly include mail forwarding authority.
Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at [email protected] or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
