RECOGNITION BY STATES OF MILITARY POWERS OF ATTORNEY.

SEC. 574. RECOGNITION BY STATES OF MILITARY POWERS OF ATTORNEY. (a) In General.—Chapter 53 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1044a the following new section: “§ 1044b. Military powers of attorney: requirement for recognition by States “(a) Instruments To Be Given Legal Effect Without Regard to State Law.—A military power of attorney— “(1) is exempt from any requirement of form, substance, formality, or recording that is provided for powers of attorney under the laws of a State; and “(2) shall be given the same legal effect as a power of attorney prepared and executed in accordance with the laws of the State concerned. “(b) Military Power of Attorney.—For purposes of this section, a military power of attorney is any general or special power of attorney that is notarized in accordance with section 1044a of this title or other applicable State or Federal law. “(c) Statement To Be Included.—(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, each military power of attorney 107 STAT. 1675shall contain a statement that sets forth the provisions of subsection (a). “(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to make inapplicable the provisions of subsection (a) to a military power of attorney that does not include a statement described in that paragraph. “(d) State Defined.—In this section, the term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and a possession of the United States.”. (b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1044a the following: “1044b. Military powers of attorney: requirement for recognition by States.”.