General Power of Attorney UK
Power of Attorney is often misunderstood, both in its concept and in its application. Life is busy and sometimes it is not possible to be in all places at the same time. A business man who is going on holiday may need an important contractual document signed in England during his absence abroad. Perhaps an individual is diagnosed with an illness that will mean that he will become unable to deal with matters personally and he wants someone to look after things on his behalf when he is unable to do so.
In any of these cases and numerous other ones besides, circumstances arise when it would be of enormous practical importance or convenience to delegate matters to another person who is able to deal with them. The document to effect this can be a Power of Attorney and will appoint a trusted person (who does not himself have to be a solicitor or legally qualified person) to deal on behalf of an individual in their legal affairs.
There are two different types of Power of Attorney, the General Power of Attorney which is appropriate for general affairs and the Lasting Power of Attorney which is more applicable for use in circumstances when an individual is likely to become mentally incapacitated and would rely on the attorney to look after their personal and financial affairs.
What can an appointed attorney do once the Power of Attorney has been granted to them? It largely depends on the terms of the document, but a General Power of Attorney would be just that; a widely drafted series of powers to act as the attorney of the individual. Duties could range from signing a document in an individual’s stead, or dealing with more general issues such as organising insurance for a property in the event that an occasion arises to prevent an individual from dealing with these issues personally.
The General Power of Attorney does not just apply in personal scenarios. It is also possible to appoint a company as an attorney. An example of a useful situation for this is a landlord appointing a letting agent to deal with his business affairs on his behalf. This is a very practical and common way of dealing with business matters. Given the number of possibilities that this document can be put to, the General Power of Attorney is often carefully tailored by a solicitor to ensure that it covers the correct scenarios and is designed to be effective to cover the eventualities for which it was put in place, whether on a long-term or a short-term basis. There will also be certain formalities to completing this document, which should be checked carefully to ensure it is effective. If an individual does not want to incur the costs of instructing solicitors for a bespoke Power of Attorney, there is always the option of buying an ‘off the peg’ version although of course there is the disadvantage that it is not as carefully tailored to the individuals circumstances.
It may seem as if these powers are wide as indeed they can be, depending on how the General Power of Attorney is drafted, but the position is not set in stone. It is also possible to bring the General Power of Attorney to an end if it is no longer appropriate, by using a Deed of Revocation of Power of Attorney. If, for example, a General Power of Attorney was granted so that the attorney could sign and deal with the purchase of property whilst the buyer was out of the country, the buyer could revoke the General Power of Attorney once he came back into England or once the transaction was completed.
There are various types of Powers of Attorney and it is worth bearing in mind that different types of deed are appropriate to different situations. The General Power of Attorney may not be appropriate for all circumstances. This form of document would not be suitable to make arrangements to look after the personal business of an elderly or ill person, because if that person subsequently became mentally incapacitated, the General Power of Attorney would automatically become ineffective and void. In these circumstances, it would be better to use a document called a Lasting Power of Attorney which would remain effective, notwithstanding the mental capabilities of the individual provided certain formalities and registrations are effected.
It is also worth bearing in mind that this Power of Attorney arrangement is applicable to England and Wales but the law is different in Scotland and alternative considerations would apply.