Power of Attorney is a legal document whereby one person (the "Donor") gives another person or persons (the "Attorney") the power to act on his or her behalf with regard to his or her property and financial affairs. 
 
The most common types of Power of Attorney in England and Wales are:

 

Ordinary Power of Attorney - which can be general or limited to specific affairs

Enduring Power of Attorney - which can be used in the event of the Donor's mental incapacity.

 

Usually, an Ordinary Power of Attorney is created for a set period of time in cases where the Donor is going abroad or is unable to act for some other reason and wishes someone else to have the authority to act on his or her behalf. An Ordinary Power of Attorney will usually end either at a specified time or upon the request of the Donor at any time using a Deed of Revocation and will automatically be revoked if the Donor loses mental capacity. There is no requirement for the Ordinary Power of Attorney to be registered.

 

In contrast, an Enduring Power of Attorney allows the Donor to appoint one or more people ("Attorneys") to manage their property and financial affairs either immediately or at a future date. An Attorney does not have to register the Enduring Power of Attorney in order to use it. If, however, the Attorney wishes to use the power at a time after there is reason to believe that the Donor is, or is becoming mentally incapable of managing his or her financial affairs the Attorney must register the Enduring Power of Attorney.

For more information visit the Public Guardianship Office website