South Africa: temporary power of attorney

Which document?

These are temporary powers of Attorney. They specify certain powers which the Attorney is to have during a certain time period, until the power is revoked, or until the power or event has been fulfilled. Do not confuse these with an Enduring Power of Attorney, for use in anticipation of a person becoming unable to handle their own affairs permanently. Note: Enduring Powers of Attorney are not yet applicable in South Africa.

We suggest you read our information article at: . It explains Powers of Attorney in full. We also have an article on Curatorship – the current alternative to an Enduing Power of Attorney.

Note: All Power of Attorney documents must be granted whilst the donor still has full mental capacity. Once mental capacity has diminished, the power ends. Of course this is a problematic area. Reform in the form of an Enduring Power of Attorney is imminent.

WIL222 gives the Attorney power either to do specific tasks that you delegate, or to manage all your affairs as they see fit. It’s simply a matter of choice – you delegate only the tasks you want the Attorney to have power over.

WIL223 gives the Attorney power to sell real property – a house, farm, some land or other real property. The Attorney can be given only specific tasks relating to the same of the real property, or can be given the power to do everything to close the sale – you choose.

WIL224 gives the Attorney power to control either all aspects or only some aspects of your bank account(s). Designate one or more accounts.

WIL225 gives the Attorney power to deal with the execution of documents relating to, for example, your will, a charity you donate to, your life insurance, or whatever else you choose.

With all these Powers of Attorney, you can also specify matters which you do not want the Attorney to have control over. 

WIL072 Specify and describe the ways you want to be medically treated should you lose the capacity to speak for yourself.

When to use:

All these documents have effect once signed (or otherwise, if you say so in the document).

You can use them for almost any situation – whether you are going to Africa to help prevent conflict diamond mining, flying to the moon, or going deep sea diving. They are useful because of their flexibility – you choose the what, how, where, when and who. 

These agreements are suitable for:

• anyone who is going away, or who will be unable to manage either one or all of their affairs for a period of time.

Documents WIL222 to WIL225 include the following provisions:

• names and details of Donor and Attorney;
• reference to the Powers of Attorney Act 1971;
• examples of what the Attorney might be given the power to do;
• examples of what the Attorney might not be permitted to do;
• signatures of Donor, Attorney and Witness.