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What types of Power of Attorney exist?

There are three types of Power of Attorney:

  • General (or ordinary) – this type of Power of Attorney is usually used if you need a person to handle your affairs for a temporary period of time. You can still handle your own affairs when this is convenient.
  • Enduring (not issued after 30th September 2007) – this type of Power of Attorney was used when a person needed to nominate a person(s) to handle their affairs in anticipation of losing their mental and/or physical capacity in the future. The Donor is able to run their own affairs whilst they still have capacity to do so. Once the Donor loses their mental capacity, the Enduring Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). After the Power of Attorney is registered, the Attorney(s) manages the Donor’s affairs on their behalf.
  • Lasting (replaced Enduring Power of Attorney from 1st October 2007) – this type of Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) before it can be used. The Power of Attorney may state that it cannot be used by the attorney prior to the donor losing their capacity.

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