Attorneys Must Go Through Hoops

Completing an Enduring Power of Attorney Appointing another person to take decisions and act on your behalf is a sensible step that we frequently recommend to clients. Once the documents have been completed however, it is not the end of the story. If your attorney takes steps on your behalf, or particularly signs documents on your behalf, the Attorney needs to be aware of the requirements of the Powers of Attorney Act, in particular the need to make it clear on any documents signed that it has been signed in the capacity of Attorney.

A recent case in the District Court in Queensland involving former basketball players, Shane Heal and Matt Neilsen, dealt with exactly this point. Shane Heal signed a document as the Attorney for Matt Neilsen but did not make it clear that he signed as an Attorney. Whilst in that instance the Court decided that more general common law principles of agency were called into play to make the signature on the document valid, the Court did decide that it was not valid under the Power of Attorney Act.

Attorneys are required to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Power of Attorney Act and if you have any doubts as to what those requirements are then as an Attorney you should obtain your own independent advice.