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Revocation of Power of Attorney checklist

Make it Legal™ Checklist

Here are a few important steps to take to finish your document

Read the document to make sure it meets your needs. Ensure that as the donor of the power of attorney (ie the person who made the power of attorney), you are certain that you want to revoke your attorney’s power of acting on your behalf.

Remember that if you have any questions about the document you can easily Ask a lawyer.

The Revocation of Power of Attorney is a special type of contract called a 'deed'. This means it must be signed in a special way.

  1. Print out the Revocation of Power of Attorney.

    You must print a copy of your deed and sign it physically. Deeds can legally be signed using electronic signatures, but extra care must be taken when signing electronically to ensure that all of the formalities for the execution of the particular type of deed are met. This deed is, therefore, designed to be signed by hand (ie ‘wet-signed’) to ensure that it is executed correctly. You cannot sign online.
  2. You must sign the Revocation of Power of Attorney in the presence of one witness. Your witness must be independent and have mental capacity and should not be a family member and under the age of 18.

  3. The witness must sign and add their name, address and occupation directly underneath your signature.

  4. Complete the Revocation of Power of Attorney by writing the date in the space provided at the top of the document.

Send a copy of the Revocation of Power of Attorney to your attorney to let them know that you no longer want them to act as your attorney. 

If you post the Revocation of Power of Attorney to your attorney, consider using recorded delivery in order to have proof of delivery. 

If you hand-deliver the Revocation of Power of Attorney to your attorney (eg post it directly into their letterbox or personally give it to the attorney), consider having a witness with you who can attest to the delivery of the Revocation.

If your bank or other financial institution has a copy of the power of attorney, let them have a certified copy of the Revocation so that they know not to deal with your attorney any longer.

Make sure your attorney is aware of the Revocation of Power of Attorney. This ensures that they do not continue exercising their powers. If your attorney is not aware of the Revocation, their actions could potentially still be valid.

Keep the original of the Revocation of Power of Attorney in a safe place.

Consider having several certified copies made of the Revocation of Power of Attorney. This ensures that the original can be stored safely. A certified copy is one which is confirmed by a qualified person - usually a solicitor - as a true copy of the original document. While Rocket Lawyer does not provide certification services, they can be provided by most solicitors for a fee.

Keep at least one copy of the Revocation of Power of Attorney for yourself.

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