POWERS OF ATTORNEY

What is a power of attorney?

Most of us have heard of an ordinary power of attorney. It’s a legal way of giving someone else the power to manage your affairs, or some aspect of them, when it is difficult or inconvenient for you to manage them yourself. For example, you may have some overseas property you need to deal with and appoint an 'attorney’ to take care of things if you can’t be there yourself or if they are better placed at dealing with matters in a foreign jurisdiction.

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Usually you appoint someone you trust, such as a close relative, friend, or professional as your 'attorney'. Nobody can simply 'take' a power of attorney. You must grant or  'donate' it willingly. The donor decides who to appoint as attorney and can cancel the arrangement at any time. The donor will execute a formal statement setting out the power and the attorney can show this as evidence that they act on the donor’s behalf.

An ordinary power of attorney is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive arrangement to make and it can be granted for specific time or purpose (such as buying or selling a house) and you can revoke it any time you like.

The big limitation of an ordinary power of attorney is that it automatically comes to an end if you develop an illness, condition or have an accident which results in you losing legal mental capacity.