General power of attorney (GPA)

A General Power of Attorney (GPA) is a form which authorises someone to act on your behalf and in your name. It can be used for a variety of specific events and situations and for specific periods of time, and is therefore less complicated than a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

A GPA can be used in relation to your property and financial affairs but because you have to specify a set time for it to remain active, it means that it offers less cover in terms of time than an LPA. Unlike an LPA, it cannot be used to authorise someone to make decisions concerning your personal welfare and healthcare.

You may feel the need a GPA for specific event – for example, if you were going on a long cruise and unable to handle your affairs whilst away, you could appoint an attorney to look after your estate or manage your business interests if any issues arose in your absence. For instance, you might wish to appoint a trusted family member as an attorney to look after your estate in your absence, on the basis that your age and health would make it unlikely that you would lose capacity when you were away.

In terms of the length of a GPA, it automatically ceases if the donor becomes incapable of making the decisions discussed. It would then be necessary to take out an LPA which usually offers greater protection.

In order to make a GPA, you must be over the age of 18 and have capacity to grant your consent to allow your attorney to act on your behalf. You will be disqualified as an attorney if you are either entering into bankruptcy or have been officially declared bankrupt.

Providing you meet the criteria, you can grant authority. The person giving the power is referred to as the ‘donor’ in England and Wales, or the ‘granter’ in Scotland. The person who is receiving the power is called an ‘attorney’. As a donor, once you have granted a GPA, you have given authority for the attorney to make decisions and act on your behalf regarding your property and affairs, as if you were making them yourself. The exception is, that the appointed attorney cannot make gifts from your estate.