Your personal and family paperwork, sorted

When someone must act for you. A power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 31) lets you appoint an attorney to sign, collect or manage on your behalf, whether for a single transaction or for your affairs generally, and an authorisation letter covers the simpler everyday errands.

When you plan for loss of capacity. An enduring power of attorney under the Enduring Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 501) survives your mental incapacity, so your attorney can continue to deal with your property and financial affairs -- provided the strict form and witnessing rules are followed.

When you must state a fact formally. A statutory declaration or a simple attestation letter records a fact -- identity, residence, loss of a document, a family circumstance -- for banks, schools, consulates and government departments, declared before a person authorised to take it.

When personal data or family logistics are involved. Consent and authorisation forms for the use of personal data engage the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), and travel consents, guardianship letters and family attestations keep everyday arrangements documented and provable.

• Powers of attorney: general and specific, for banking, property management and administrative steps.
• Enduring powers of attorney: property and financial affairs, in the prescribed statutory form.
• Statutory declarations and attestation letters: identity, residence, lost documents and family facts.
• Authorisation and consent letters: collections, applications, school and travel consents for children.
• Personal data consents and requests: consent forms and data access or correction requests under the PDPO.

Powers of attorney rest on the Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 31): a power must be executed as a deed, and the Ordinance provides a short statutory form that confers general authority over the donor's property and affairs. An ordinary power, however, lapses if the donor loses mental capacity -- precisely when it is needed most. The Enduring Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 501) fills that gap: an EPA covers property and financial affairs, must follow the prescribed form and must be signed before both a solicitor and a registered medical practitioner, and it must be registered with the High Court when the donor becomes, or is becoming, mentally incapable.

Declarations turn on who takes them. A statutory declaration carries weight only when it is declared before a person authorised to take declarations, such as a Commissioner for Oaths at a Public Enquiry Service Centre, a notary public or a solicitor, so check the venue before signing. For everyday attestations addressed to banks or schools, a clear, dated and signed letter is usually enough, but keep the supporting documents with your copy.

Personal data has its own statute. The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) applies whenever personal data is collected, used or disclosed, and its six data protection principles require that the person knows the purpose of collection and that the data is not used for a new purpose without prescribed consent. The Ordinance also gives every person a right to request access to, and correction of, their personal data, enforced by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. A consent form should therefore say precisely what data is covered, for what purpose and for how long.

• Drafted for the Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 31) and the Enduring Powers of Attorney Ordinance (Cap. 501).
• Built with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) and its data protection principles in mind.
• Reviewed by legal professionals, with the form and witnessing requirements built in.
• Ready to use as PDF and Word, so you can sign, witness or submit without delay.
• Practical structure: guided fields for parties, powers granted, facts declared and durations.