A power of attorney allows another person to act within authority you give them. The person granting the authority is often called the donor, and the person appointed is the attorney. In this context, “attorney” does not mean that the person must be a lawyer.
The most important first question is what you need the document to do. A short-term arrangement for a practical task is different from planning for a future loss of decision-making capacity.
An ordinary power of attorney
An ordinary power can authorise another person to deal with specified matters while you retain the relevant capacity. It may be useful where you are abroad or need someone to complete a particular transaction.
The scope should be clear. Authority to deal with one matter should not be mistaken for unrestricted control of all your affairs. An ordinary power is not a substitute for an enduring arrangement intended to operate when you lose capacity.
An enduring power of attorney
A new enduring power of attorney is made through the current Irish statutory framework and the Decision Support Service process. It can address specified property and affairs or personal welfare decisions if you later lack capacity for the relevant decisions.
There are formal requirements, including professional statements and registration steps. Downloading an ordinary power of attorney form does not complete that process. Older enduring powers made under the 1996 legislation have their own position and should be checked before any replacement is attempted.
Healthcare planning is separate
An advance healthcare directive records treatment decisions for a future time when you cannot make the relevant decision. It can also appoint a designated healthcare representative. It should not be confused with a general authority to manage finances or welfare.
Before choosing a form, describe the task in ordinary language: who needs to do what, when should the authority operate and when should it end? That description will help identify the appropriate route.
Use the Decision Support Service's current guidance for enduring arrangements, and obtain individual advice where the powers are broad, property is involved or the circumstances are complex.
The right document is the one designed for the actual need. Similar names do not make these arrangements interchangeable.
Which power of attorney do I need?
Start with the situation, not the name of the form. For a defined task while you can make your own decisions, read about limited powers of attorney. For future incapacity planning, follow the Irish enduring power of attorney process. Treatment wishes belong in a separate advance healthcare directive.
IrishWills.ie’s ordinary power of attorney forms are for the first type of arrangement. They do not create a DSS-registered EPA. If you have been searching for a “lasting power of attorney in Ireland”, note that lasting power of attorney is the terminology used in England and Wales; the Irish future-incapacity arrangement is an enduring power of attorney.
Sources and further reading
General information, not advice on your individual circumstances. Laws and tax rules can change; check the linked official guidance and obtain professional advice where needed.