The proposed amendments contained in this report are recommended by the Subcommittee on Guardianships and Powers of Attorney of the Joint State Government Commission's Advisory Committee on Decedents' Estates Laws. The subcommittee was appointed in January 1995 to review and of Chapter 56 (Powers of Attorney) Chapter 55 (Incapacitated Persons) of Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. The subcommittee consists of the following individuals: John J. Lombard Jr., chair; Judge Roger M. Fischer; Neil E. Hendershot; Michael J. Mullaugh; William Campbell Ries; and M. Paul Smith, who died August 27, 1998, after having served the advisory committee since its inception in 1945.

The subcommittee made its recommendations regarding Chapter 55 in its May 1996 report (Report of the Subcommittee on Guardianships and Powers and Attorney). In its March 1998 report, the subcommittee made its recommendations regarding health care decision-making.

The proposed amendments to Chapter 56 in this report were recommended by the subcommittee and approved by the full advisory committee. At its November 9, 1998 meeting, the Task Force on Decedents' Estates Laws authorized the introduction of legislation incorporating the amendments.