Can a Power of Attorney Be Used to Buy a Car?

Last updated: 10 May 2023

A Power of Attorney form can be used to grant a person permission to act on your behalf and can be as broad or as narrow as you wish. For example, it can be used to grant the power to buy a car, a house or anything at all, that a person wishes to purchase in their name.

Filling out a Power of Attorney form can be very useful when, for some reason you cannot be present to make a purchase. Two common scenarios are when you have to go away for whatever reason whether it’s a holiday or business trip and need to finalize a purchase. You can still finalize the purchase through granting authority to another person to do it on your behalf. Other times there may be a car or other item you would like to purchase in your name but you are out of state or out of the country, you can do this through someone else to whom you give authority to purchase that car on your behalf.

The scope of the power of attorney can be very specific or general. It should be noted that you need to be careful about limiting the authority: it should not be too limited, as it must allow the nominated person to carry out the required task problem free and limiting it may not permit them to do this.

Limits of a Power of Attorney …

Any person granted the authority under a power of attorney does not need to have any type of qualification with the exception of the requirement to be 18 years or older. This person can be anyone related or unrelated to you but should be someone trustworthy and in most instances this person will be a friend or a relative.

A power of attorney does not necessarily need to be created for a specific task, it can also be given for general purposes- for example to look after all property or financial affairs of a person. This typically occurs for reasons such as when you are going overseas, in the event you may be unable to look after your own affairs due to illness or simply not wanting to personally oversee certain of their own matters anymore.

There is no limit to the reasons or options for giving power of attorney to another person. This authority can be given, defined and revoked all quite easily. In many instances this authority will extinguish upon a certain task being carried out when the power is limited and confined to a certain act. Other instances it will be extinguished by other actions, such as the person giving the power returning from a trip or a defined end date or by a defined event. In any event, they are always revocable at any time by the person granting the power.

We’ve written an extremely easy-to-use Power of Attorney Form. It has a minimal number of inputs, is written in plain English with no legal jargon and comes as an easy online form.

image of power of attorney form

Power of Attorney Form

Looking for a quick and easy way to authorize someone to act on your behalf? Our easy-to-use online form comes complete with step-by-step video instructions and telephone support to ensure a hassle-free experience. Whether you need someone to pay bills, sign documents, or manage your affairs while you’re away, our Power of Attorney Form has got you covered.

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About the Author: Vanessa Emilio

Vanessa Emilio (BA Hons, LLB, ACIS, AGIA) is the Founder and CEO of Legal123.com.au and Practice Director of Legal123 Pty Ltd. Vanessa is a qualified Australian lawyer with 20+ years experience in corporate, banking and trust law. Click for full bio of or follow on LinkedIn.

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