What are General Powers of Attorney?

A power of attorney is used by the person signing it, the donor to grant his powers to a trusted friend or someone of his choice to carry out some deals or negotiations in his absence by empowering that friend to act on his behalf. In Canada a general power of attorney comes into effect immediately after it is signed and stays valid till the period of time or purpose specified is done. According to the power of attorney Act of Canada, a general p o a may be from Form 1 or Form 2 of the schedule. The power of attorney, once signed by the donor gives the agent chosen to act as attorney the right to do anything legal that the donor may do, on his behalf. It is totally upto the donor to choose a trustworthy and capable person as his attorney.

Guidelines in Settling Disputes

However there are broad guidelines set down for the conduct of both parties to protect their interests and to settle future disputes. In cases where more than one attorney is appointed the donor has to specify whether they are to act jointly or successively. In the absence of any instruction, it is assumed that they are to act successively and so they take turns in attending to the donor’s affairs. After a lot of cases and disputes arising from people misusing the P O A, the federal government now requires that a general power of attorney be signed in the presence of a lawyer or legal representative for both parties;

A medical doctor to certify to the mental health of the donor at the time of signing; a member of the RCMP or someone from the local sheriff’s office to ensure no coercion is used; a notary public; and also a judge or justice of the peace or a magistrate to ensure everything is above board. This protects both the donor and the agent in case of future disputes. The POA has to be in writing and when it is being revoked too, it has to be in writing. It is the donor’s responsibility to appraise the agent or attorney that the POA has been revoked.

The general power of attorney is most commonly used in business and legal matters where the donor is unable to be physically present and so appoints an agent to act on his behalf. It is used for child care contracts or traveling with children. It is also very commonly used in real estate deals. It can be used for finalizing and signing of deals like rental agreements, employment, sales and service contracts and other such routine matters. The donor can either bestow special powers in the POA while signing or restrict some powers that are generally taken for granted. The agent or attorney is supposed to act in the best interests of the donor at all times. Though in cases of financial management the agent is not obliged to provide the donor with monthly accounts unless specifically required to do so.