Power of Attorney

Power of attorney authorises a party to act on another persons behalf in business and legal matters and templates, forms and samples of letters for South Africa residents are available online for download. The person authorised is commonly known as the agent or simply the attorney, while the authorising party is commonly known as the principal or donor. It need not be a lawyer that acts as the agent and in fact in many cases, close friends, partners and members of the family are appointed.

There are different types of power of attorney in South Africa with templates and examples to download from the web of each. There is a general kind which the agent or attorney is given authority to act generally on behalf of the donor, or a special kind which differs in that an agent is authorised to act in representation for the donor in more specific transactions. Precise terms are normally laid out as far as the authority goes for an agent acting under special power.

By nature and form this is essentially a written document which used to be subject to stamp duty. This no longer became an official requirement in the year 1999. According to South African law it is revocable allowing the donor to withdraw it at any time. There are many professional forms and example letters as templates available to download from the web for those who need help and guidance in drawing up an official power of attorney for various reasons in South Africa.