General Power of Attorney (PoA)

About this general power of attorney template

This general power of attorney template (also called an ordinary power of attorney and sometimes referred to as a PoA) allows you to give temporary authority to someone else to make decisions and act on your behalf.

As the giver you become the “donor” of the power and the receiver becomes your “attorney”. The actions that your attorney may take on your behalf can be as general or specific as you like and may relate to one part or all of your affairs.

The general power of attorney document specifies both the powers that you grant and the time period during which the attorney has those powers.

One of the features of a general power of attorney is that it created for a defined period of time. It is not indefinite. It becomes effective as soon as it is signed (or otherwise if you specify in the document). You could draft it now for use later.

If you need to cancel it (called revoking in legal jargon) before the expiry date in the document, you can use a document called a deed of revocation to do so. It will automatically be revoked if the donor loses mental capacity.

With this template, you have complete flexibility as to who to nominate as your attorney, the powers that you delegate and how they should be used, and the time period. You can also specific the matters you don’t want the attorney to have power over.

When to use this Ordinary Power of Attorney template

You can grant a power of attorney if you attain age of majority and have mental capacity. The attorney must be of legal age of majority and not be an undischarged or interim bankrupt.

You can only grant the power of attorney to do things that you already have the right and capacity to do yourself. You can’t use it to allow the attorney to make decisions about your welfare.

Often, a general power of attorney (PoA) is used when

• you are abroad but need someone to manage your financial and legal affairs at home (such as buying or selling property)
• you want to allow someone to perform a specific task on your behalf on a regular basis (such paying your bills in your name from your bank account each month or collecting a pension)
• you want to allow someone with greater knowledge of a subject to act on your behalf (e.g. an estate agent to negotiate buying a house)

The attorney must be notified to make a revocation effective.

Template features and contents

• Flexible to suit all situations, business or personal
• Can be used by anyone