Lifespan and Termination of a General POA

A General POA ends in one of four ways: by its own terms, by completion of purpose, by operation of law, or by formal revocation. The four modes are not interchangeable, and the consequences of each differ.

Expiry by date

A General POA may state a fixed term. Where the drafting includes an expiry date, the authority terminates on that date and the instrument becomes a historical record. Acts performed after the expiry are unauthorised and produce no legal effect, regardless of the attorney’s good faith. A fixed term is a drafting choice the principal should consider deliberately: open-ended instruments produce continuing exposure; fixed-term instruments require renewal but contain the exposure.

Completion of purpose

Completion of purpose is rare for a General POA but not impossible. Where the breadth of the authority has been exhausted, the authority terminates. In most cases a General POA does not terminate by completion of purpose because the breadth is, by design, larger than the matters that arise. The instrument outlives the matters it was drafted to address and runs on until terminated by another mode.

Operation of law

The law terminates a General POA in several circumstances independent of the principal’s deliberate act.

The principal’s death terminates the authority. Acts performed after the principal’s death, even where the attorney is unaware of it, are subject to challenge. The principal’s incapacity terminates the authority unless the instrument is drafted to be durable. The concept of durability the survival of the authority through the principal’s incapacity is the subject of specific provisions in the drafting and is not assumed.

The attorney’s death, incapacity, or resignation terminates the authority. The principal cannot transfer the appointment to another person without granting a new instrument. The bankruptcy of either party terminates the authority: the principal’s bankruptcy removes their standing to deal with assets that vest in the trustee; the attorney’s bankruptcy removes their fitness to act in matters touching the principal’s estate.

Formal revocation

A General POA may be terminated by the principal’s deliberate act. The act has both a substantive component the decision to terminate and a procedural component the communication of the decision to the attorney, the recording of the revocation through the authority that holds the instrument’s registration, and the notification of counterparties who may have relied on the instrument.

This page is the categorical statement that revocation is one of the four termination modes. The procedural mechanism where to file, what to submit, what proofs are required is owned by poacancellation.ae.

Lifespan and Termination of a General POA

Expiry by date

Completion of purpose

Operation of law

Formal revocation

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