General Power of Attorney UK: General or Limited Deed Template, Word and PDF

It is a deed by which one person, the donor, gives another, the attorney, authority to act for them in legal and financial matters. The general version follows the short form set out in Schedule 1 to the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. Under section 10 of that Act, a power in that form gives the attorney authority to do anything the donor can lawfully do through an attorney. A limited power lists the specific acts allowed, such as the sale of one house or the running of one account, and nothing else. Both are executed as a deed, and neither is registered anywhere. You keep full control and can revoke the deed whenever you like.

Neighbouring documents cause most of the confusion. A letter of authority for dealing with one organisation lets a relative speak to your energy supplier or collect a parcel, but cannot be used to sign a deed such as a property transfer. A lasting power of attorney is the opposite case. It is made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, and keeps working after you lose capacity. The ordinary power sits between them: stronger than a letter, but it ends automatically if you lose mental capacity.

The form comes from statute. Section 1 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 requires a power of attorney to be executed as a deed, and section 1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 says how: the donor signs in front of a witness who attests the signature, or someone signs at the donor's direction and in the donor's presence before two witnesses, and the document is then delivered as a deed. The attorney may sign in their own name by the donor's authority, as section 7 of the 1971 Act allows.

Under section 5, an attorney who acts without knowing of a revocation incurs no liability because of it, and a transaction with someone who did not know of the revocation stays valid in that person's favour. Section 3 lets the deed be proved by a certified copy, a photocopy certified on every page by the donor, a solicitor, a notary, a chartered legal executive or a stockbroker.

Land is where the rules tighten. Co-owners hold land on trust, and section 10(2) excludes trustee functions from a general power, subject to section 1 of the Trustee Delegation Act 1999, which lets the attorney act while the donor has a beneficial interest; section 7 keeps the two-trustee rule for sale money, and rules 61 and 62 of the Land Registration Rules 2003 govern the evidence HM Land Registry asks for. The clearest official summary is HM Land Registry Practice Guide 9 on powers of attorney and registered land, which confirms that the donor's death, bankruptcy or mental incapacity revokes an ordinary power. Anyone planning for later life needs a property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney instead. The deed is governed by the law of England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, and acceptance there or abroad depends on local practice.

The classic case is a sale while the owner is abroad. A seller who has moved to Dubai cannot easily sign a contract and a TR1 transfer on the day a buyer in Leeds is ready, so a sibling signs both under the power. Landlords use it for tenancy renewals and repairs; the property and real estate templates usually sit alongside it in the file.

Hospital stays and long trips are the other everyday reason. A planned operation or a posting overseas leaves bills unpaid, and a general power of attorney UK deed lets a partner or adult child keep things moving. Sole traders use it to keep signing supplier contracts and invoices while they are away, and shareholders use it to deal with their shares, together with the usual company and commercial documents. A director's role is different: the company acts through its board, not a director's personal attorney.

Joint ownership is where sales go wrong. If the property is owned jointly and the attorney is the other owner, the attorney cannot alone receive the sale money for both of you, so the power is not enough to complete the sale. And if the purpose is to plan for dementia or a serious illness, an ordinary power is the wrong tool: it stops working when capacity is lost.

Our general power of attorney UK template opens by naming the donor and up to two attorneys, says whether two attorneys act jointly (both sign everything) or jointly and severally (either signs alone), and uses the Schedule 1 wording or, for a limited power, a closed list of acts. Each limited act carries the incidental powers that make it workable, such as dealing with the DVLA for a car. A short notice at the top tells every reader that the deed is not a lasting power and does not cover health or care decisions. The limited version can be tied to a single transaction, after which it ends by itself.

The core clauses deal with what the attorney may and may not do. Health, personal welfare, making a will, voting in elections, swearing statements of your own knowledge and running court cases in person are excluded, although the attorney can instruct a solicitor within the scope of the power. A land held on trust clause applies the Trustee Delegation Act 1999 and spells out the two-trustee rule, and a signing clause applies section 7 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. The attorney's duties are set out as between you and them: keep your money separate, keep accounts, make no gifts and take no personal benefit without your written agreement. Readers who also need cover for care decisions should look at the health and welfare lasting power of attorney, which no ordinary power can replace.

The closing clauses cover expenses, any fee, duration, revocation, ratification and the section 5 protection. For use abroad, the deed names the country and warns that a notary or an apostille may be required. Practical notes on witnessing and certified copies follow the signature block.

You start with your name and address, then choose one or two attorneys and how two of them act. The next question decides the scope. The general power keeps the questionnaire short, because the statutory wording does the work; the limited power opens a few steps where you choose the acts, from selling, letting or buying a property to operating named accounts, signing a contract, dealing with a vehicle or collecting a debt. With a limited power, you can then tie the whole deed to one transaction.

You then choose how long the power lasts: until you revoke it, or until an end date picked from the calendar. After that you say whether the attorney is paid and whether the deed will be used outside the United Kingdom, in which case you name the country. The final step asks for the date you will sign and how you will sign, personally in front of one witness or by someone signing for you in front of two. The preview on the right updates with every answer. You then print the deed, sign it in front of your witness and hand the original to your attorney, keeping a certified copy for yourself.

The most damaging mistake is signing without a witness actually in the room. A document that is not properly attested is not a deed. Choose an independent adult who is not an attorney or an attorney's partner, so that nobody can later question the signature. Elderly parents are the next trap. Families reach for an ordinary power when a parent's memory is already failing, yet incapacity revokes it by law. The parent should make a lasting power while still able to; once capacity has gone, the family usually has to apply to the Court of Protection, typically for a deputyship.

Banks are where most attorneys first hit a wall. Many have their own third-party mandate and some refuse an ordinary power for certain services, so ask before the trip, not after. Jointly owned homes catch couples out at completion: when both appoint the same relative, one person cannot receive the sale money for two trustees. Vague wording in a limited power is quieter trouble: a bank refuses any act the deed does not name. And people forget to revoke properly. Tell the attorney in writing, ideally by deed, write to each organisation that holds a copy and ask for the original back.