Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney

Power of Attorney is different to a Will in that this involves giving another person authority to make legal decisions (personal and/or financial) on your behalf.

Personal decisions relate to your care and welfare, including your health care, (e.g. deciding where or with whom you live or consenting to medical treatment).

Financial decisions relate to the management of your finances (e.g. paying your bills and taxes, selling or renting your home, using your income to pay for your needs or invest your money).

There are two main types of Powers of Attorneys:

General POA:

• Used to appoint someone to look after your finances for a specified period, for example, for the time that you are on an extended holiday overseas.
• This can be used for a specific purpose (e.g. selling real estate) or can have a wide scope (e.g. anything you can do at law).

Enduring POA:

• This is different to a general POA as it concerns decisions after you have lost the capacity to make decisions.
• Reduced capacity may come about due to illness, injury or dementia.
• This document can only be valid if made whilst you had mental capacity