A General Power of Attorney, often known as an Ordinary Power of Attorney, is where you give formal authority to one or more persons to act on your behalf generally. A General Power of Attorney can be used in a wide variety of scenarios and often when the donor cannot be physically present to carry out certain actions. For example, to give someone the power to sign documents on your behalf; or if given by a company, authority for the attorney to sign documents on behalf of the company.
A Special Power of Attorney, also known as a Limited or Specific Power of Attorney, is similar to a General Power of Attorney; however, it gives the attorney power only to do things relating to a particular transaction. It essentially limits the power given to the attorney and usually ceases to exist once the particular transaction has finished.
A Lasting Power of Attorney, previously known as Enduring Power of Attorney, is the primary way to appoint an attorney or a decision maker to act on behalf of a person in the event that they lose mental capacity. General or Specific Powers of Attorney will not be valid once the donor has lost capacity. On the other hand, a Lasting Power of Attorney will still be valid even when the donor has lost mental capacity. Lasting Powers of Attorney can be made to look after someone’s financial and property affairs; and for someone’s general personal welfare and healthcare. They can also provide detailed instructions to the attorneys dealing with how the donor wants their affairs to be managed.
Lasting Powers of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in order to be valid. This can be done by the donor whilst they have mental capacity; or by the attorney once the donor has lost mental capacity.
Powers of Attorney must be prepared properly and made by deed. They must also be executed (signed) properly in order for to be valid. It is therefore very important to ensure that the correct document is used and that it is executed correctly.