What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?

An Enduring Power of Attorney ("EPA") is a document where a person (called "the Donor") gives another person or persons (called "the Donee/s") the legal authority to make legal and financial decisions on their behalf in case they become unable to make decisions for themselves in the future.

Your attorney therefore "stands in your shoes" and can do anything you could do, eg: sell and buy property, pay your accounts, attend to banking, manage investments, taxation and all other administrative matters. This legal arrangement ensures that the donor's affairs are managed by a trusted individual if they become mentally incapacitated.

Legally, your attorney must act with diligence and in your best interests and keep full and proper records of the actions undertaken on your behalf.

Accidents, illness or disability can happen suddenly without warning. It is not only disruptive but also means you need help from someone to manage your personal affairs.

Without an EPA your spouse or partner will need to apply to the State Administrative Tribunal for authority to act, which means strict supervision and often lengthy delays and costs. Therefore, you should consider an EPA while you are healthy and in full control of your faculties. An EPA can only be signed whilst you have legal capacity and is "enduring" because it continues to operate when you are of unsound mind, illness or disability.

Once you have lost capacity because of illness or disability it is too late to sign an EPA. Whilst you continue to be of sound mind, you can revoke the EPA at any time should you so wish.

The enduring part, means it survives incapacity of the Donor.

General Power of Attorney

A general power is very similar to an EPA, but only applies to a certain action, or actions, or for a certain period of time.

It still provides the donee with the ability to act on behalf of the donor, but it does not survive incapacity, and is usually more limited in the actions that it applies to.