What is a Power of Attorney?
It’s a legal document that authorises someone to act on your behalf. It can be for a general or specific purpose. This document is very serious; it can give someone a ‘carte blanche’ to do everything from signing a contract to selling your house. You typically see it used when someone is very ill or out of the country.
How is it created?
A power of attorney is done by deed. This means that you need an attorney to prepare it.
You can create either a general version, giving the donee the power to manage all your affairs, or you can limit the power to carrying out a specific transaction. Since this is such a powerful instrument, you need to be very careful who you’re giving this power to and the extent of the power you’re granting.
Depending on your circumstances, an agency agreement may be more suitable.
Note: A person must be mentally sound to grant a power of attorney. If you need to take over the affairs of a mentally incapacitated person, then the correct rout is making a mental health application to the Court.
Undoing a Power of Attorney
To revoke a power of attorney, you need to do a deed of revocation. Without revoking the power, it will continue until you die or are mentally incapacitated.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only; it is not legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please consult a qualified attorney.
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