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POWER OF ATTORNEY
THIS POWER OF ATTORNEY is given by me, ______________________________, presently of ______________________________________________________________________, on the ______ of __________, _______
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I hereunto set my hand and seal at the City of ____________________, ____________________, New Zealand, this ______ of __________, _______.
SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED
in the presence of:
Witness: ______________________ (Sign)
__________________________________
Witness Name: ______________________
______________________________ (Donor)
Address: ___________________________
___________________________________
NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
ACCEPTANCE OF APPOINTMENT
Attorney OneI, ______________, of ____________________________, New Zealand, have read the attached Power of Attorney and am identified therein as an Attorney for ______________________________, the Donor named therein. I hereby accept the foregoing appointment as an Attorney for the Donor with full knowledge of the legal responsibilities imposed on me, and I will faithfully carry out my duties to the best of my ability.
______________ (Attorney)
Last Updated March 19, 2025
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A Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives one person the authority to make decisions on another’s behalf. The Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 governs Powers of Attorney documents in New Zealand.
There are two people included in a Power of Attorney:
A Power of Attorney is helpful in circumstances when you are unavailable, incapacitated, or unable to make decisions. There are two primary types of attorneys, which differ in when they can enact their powers: ordinary and enduring.
An ordinary Power of Attorney grants the donor powers for a specific period when the attorney is unavailable.
An enduring Power of Attorney grants the attorney powers that begin or continue when the person becomes incapacitated, for example, due to illness or physical disability.
Each document serves a vital role when you can’t make decisions for various reasons. In both documents, the attorney is a fiduciary of the donor. Fiduciary duties are enacted in vulnerable or sensitive relationships and bind the attorney to act in the donor’s best interest.
Both ordinary and enduring Powers of Attorney can grant general authority or specific powers.
General authority is broad and includes powers such as buying and selling real estate, managing rental properties, writing cheques from bank accounts, accessing safety deposit boxes, purchasing insurance, collecting debts, and managing business transactions. You can also grant somebody general authority but add restrictions. For example, the attorney is restricted from making business decisions for you.
If you need an attorney to enact specific powers, such as tax matters or family care, you can specify that in LawDepot’s Power of Attorney questionnaire. Some specific powers include:
Neither an ordinary nor enduring attorney can make decisions regarding marriage, divorce, adoption, or refuse life-saving medical treatment. More than one attorney may be appointed, and you can choose if they may act independently or if they must mutually agree on decisions.
Ordinary and enduring Power of Attorney documents can provide a donor with peace of mind and comfort when they can’t make decisions. There are several benefits to each of these documents, including:
The Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 governs enduring Powers of Attorney in New Zealand. This Act protects donors from the misuse of power by granting the court authority to revoke the appointment of any attorney who is not acting in the donor’s best interests or fulfilling their legal duties.
The 1988 Act requires the donor and attorney to sign the document. A lawyer, an officer or employee of a trustee corporation, or a qualified legal executive must witness the donor’s signature. The donor’s witness must explain the effects and implications of signing the enduring Power of Attorney to the donor. Someone other than the donor’s witness must also witness the attorney's signature.
According to the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, an enduring attorney must be:
Furthermore, an individual subject to any property or personal order cannot act as an attorney. Your attorney may be a trustee corporation, friend, whānau, family member, work colleague, or professional person, such as a lawyer or accountant.
Power of Attorney, Will, and Living Will documents often get confused. Each document is very different but important nonetheless. A Power of Attorney appoints another person with property and financial decision-making powers in the event that you are incapacitated or unavailable.
A Will directs an appointed individual, the executor, on how to distribute your assets and estate following your death. In contrast, a Living Will outlines your wishes for medical treatment if you become capacitated and cannot communicate them. You may list your wishes in your Living Will or appoint an attorney to make the decisions for you. A Living Will is also known as an Enduring Power of Attorney in Relation to Personal Care and Welfare.
To summarise, a Power of Attorney helps you manage your assets when you’re alive, and a Will helps you manage your assets when you die. A Living Will, or Advance Directive, is used for medical decisions if you become incapacitated, which is out of the scope of powers for a financial and property Power of Attorney.
Yes, a Power of Attorney can be revoked.
An ordinary Power of Attorney can be withdrawn at any time (and it immediately ceases once the donor becomes incapacitated or dies). An enduring Power of Attorney can be revoked as long as the donor is mentally competent. The family court can also cancel an enduring Power of Attorney if it deems that the appointed attorney is not acting in the donor’s best interests or breaching their legal duties.
To revoke a Power of Attorney in New Zealand, the donor must give written notice to the attorney, informing them that their powers have been withdrawn. You can also create a new Power of Attorney document that states it revokes previous Powers of Attorney. However, you must still notify your previous attorneys that the Power of Attorney has been revoked.
Powers of Attorney in New Zealand require witnesses to be valid. The Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 outlines that the witness must be a lawyer, qualified legal executive, or officer or employeee of a trustee corporation.
An ordinary Power of Attorney often has a specific end date on the document that will cease the attorney’s powers. If no date is listed, the document will end when the donor revokes it or becomes incapacitated.
An enduring Power of Attorney ends if the donor is mentally competent and revokes it or when the donor dies. After the donor’s death, the authority to manage property is transferred to the executor listed in the Last Will and Testament.
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