Power of attorney (general)

Published byDocMuse

The document by which you authorise someone else to do something in your place — to file an application, to collect a document, to represent you before an institution. You list the powers one by one and set a time limit. Note that for dealing with real property, with a vehicle, and in a number of proceedings before state bodies, the signature has to be notarised. We prepare the document; the notarisation is done at a notary.

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Common questions

Does the power of attorney have to go through a notary?

It depends on the act. For filing and collecting documents at many institutions a written authority is enough; for dealing with property and for other acts requiring a special form, notarisation of the signature is required, and sometimes of the content as well.

Is it risky to give a general power of attorney?

The more widely it is worded, the more can be done with it. So list the specific acts instead of writing general phrases — a power of attorney for everything is convenient right up until it is used for something you did not intend.

How is a power of attorney revoked?

By express revocation, communicated to the agent and, where possible, to the institutions it was used at. Simply letting a period expire is cleaner — which is why you should write in a time limit rather than leaving it open-ended.

Can the agent appoint a substitute?

Only if that is expressly allowed. If you do not want your rights passing through a third party you have never met, write the prohibition in expressly — silence on the point is read differently in different cases.