What is a General Power of Attorney? A General Power of Attorney can be used to make sure that you and your family are taken care of in the event of an accident or other situation affecting your ability to manage your own affairs.
The General Power of Attorney is a document that appoints an "attorney" to act on your behalf in relation to general activities such as personal and/or financial matters on the occurence of certain events.
The Power of Attorney does not actually have to be given to a legally qualified Attorney, the "attorney" can be a close friend or relative. Ultimately, the person you appoint must be someone that you trust completely and believe is competent to deal with your affairs appropriately.
For example, you may just be out of the country for several months and need someone to monitor your affairs in the meantime; or it could be that you are becoming ill with a disease and will need someone to help you if you are unable to handle your affairs in the future.
Once a Power of Attorney has been put in place, it can be terminated at any time using a Deed of Revocation of Power of Attorney. You can choose to appoint an Attorney generally to act on your behalf. In this situation, the Attorney will have the authority to manage all and any of your affairs. Alternatively, you can choose to grant your Attorney authority to undertake only specific tasks on your behalf, such as renewing your car insurance premium or managing a particular bank account, for example.
A General Power of Attorney is most often used by an individual who will be away travelling for a period of time or by individuals whose mobility is affected and wish to appoint someone who can do things on their behalf.
A General Power of Attorney will become automatically void in the event that you lose your mental capabilities.