What Is Power Of Attorney Principal

What is a Power of Attorney Principal?

The power of attorney is a very common term which most of us would have come across in our lives. It is especially common for those who are working abroad. The power of attorney is nothing but a document which is given by one person to another person authorizing them to act on behalf of the first person. The person who gives the power of attorney to another person is called the donor or the power of attorney principal whereas the person to whom the power of attorney is given to is called the attorney.

The power of attorney principal is the central figure in any power of attorney dealings as it is he who hands over his power to the donor and authorizes them to act on his behalf.

The concept of power of attorney is not all that difficult to understand. When one looks at why the power of attorney was introduced in the first place, it is quite easy to understand. There have been a lot of times when a person will have to take care of certain issues but that would not be possible as he might not be available. This is when the power of attorney comes into the picture as the donor has given his attorney the right to take decisions on his behalf. So the attorney can act on behalf of the donor and make decisions for the donor during his absence. The issues for which the power of attorney can be used ranges from that of selling property or taking care of existing property or looking after financial issues or even taking care of health issues.

There are basically two types of power of attorney, one where there is complete freedom to act on behalf of the donor and the second where the power is somewhat curtailed. The former is called the general power of attorney whereas the latter is called the specific power of attorney. For the specific power of attorney, the attorney will be able to take decisions on behalf of the power of attorney principal, only on a few specified topics or issues.

As already mentioned the concept of power of attorney is very simple and the government of Canada has ensured that the people can easily apply for a power of attorney and get it. This could possibly be the reason why a large number of Canadians make use of this concept and ask someone else to act on their behalf during their absence. The power of attorney in Canada is governed by the law of agency, a law which happens to be a part of the common law that is concerned with the delegation of power from one person to another.

While issuing the power of attorney, the power of attorney principal should make sure that the person to whom he or she is giving the power is trustworthy. It is very important that the power given by the power of attorney principal is not misused.