What
is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a document which you sign
where you authorise someone else to take care of your affairs and do things on your behalf. Your
attorney effectively steps into your shoes and can make decisions and sign
documents on your behalf. Decisions your attorney makes are legally binding.
How is a Power of Attorney different to a Will?
A Power of Attorney is only valid while a person is
alive and is of no use upon your death or incapacity. After you die, your Will
takes over.
What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?
There are two types of Powers of Attorney. One is a
general power of attorney (as discussed above) and the other is an “enduring”
one. A general power of attorney cannot be used after you lose capacity. On the
other hand, an enduring power of attorney keeps working even if you lose your
capacity to make decisions. A good example (or
perhaps not so good) is if you had a car accident and ended up in a coma.
If you had an enduring power of attorney, your attorneys could continue to sign
documents and make decisions on your behalf while you couldn’t. You might
appoint someone under a general power of attorney if you are off on an overseas
trip and would like to have someone to sign documents for you while you are
away.
Can I appoint more than one attorney?
Yes, you can have more than one attorney make
decisions on your behalf. You can even choose how you would like your attorneys
to reach their decisions. If you have two attorneys, you can say that you want them
to make joint decisions and both sign documents together or you can say that
you want them to be able to make decisions on their own (either of them
separately). If you have three, you can even require a majority decision.
What happens if my attorney abuses the power that I
give them?
You can revoke or cancel the power of attorney
document while you still have capacity to make decisions. If you have lost your
capacity, then you can no longer revoke the document yourself. A person who
notices the abuse of power would need to contact a government agency called the
Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for assistance/advice, along with seeking
legal advice from a solicitor (where appropriate).
General and Enduring Powers of Attorney (various
forms) are available here: https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/power-of-attorney-and-advance-health-directive