Make your Free Revocation of Power of Attorney

This revocation of power of attorney allows you to undo a power of attorney you have previously given to someone. You can revoke a previously appointed attorney for any reason. 

Provide your Attorney with the notice they are entitled to if you decide to revoke or cancel their appointment with this deed of revocation. This POA revocation covers the revocation of a previously appointed attorney because you're not happy with your attorney, the power needs formal renewal or because you no longer need the power.

Make sure the Attorney is aware of the revocation in order to avoid them continuing to exercise their powers with the result that their actions could still be valid.

For use in England and Wales only.

Use this revocation of power of attorney:

• when an attorney was appointed under section 10 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 and given a general power of attorney
• when the attorney is no longer required
• and there was no expiry date in the original power or the power is to end before the expiry date

Find more information, read Revoking a power of attorney.

This revocation of power of attorney covers:

• the situation where you have previously appointed an attorney and now wish to revoke or cancel that appointment because you are not happy with your attorney
• the situation where you have previously appointed an attorney and now wish to revoke or cancel that appointment because a year has passed and the power needs formally renewing
• the situation where you have previously appointed an attorney and now wish to revoke or cancel that appointment because you have no need for the power any longer (eg the power was for a specific purpose and that purpose has been completed)

You need this revocation of power of attorney if you want to make sure the power of attorney has been formally revoked and it cannot be exercised anymore. 

Only a donor with mental capacity can revoke a power of attorney.

The donor should complete the revocation of power of attorney. The attorney must be notified that their power to act has been revoked. During notification, the donor must demand the return of power of attorney to them.

If the power of attorney was registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), the donor must send the OPG a copy of the revocation and ask for it to be removed from the register.

Yes. The attorney must have notice of this revocation to end the power. It is a good idea to get the attorney to sign a copy of the revocation to confirm that they have had notice. If they are not aware that the power has been revoked, they are able to continue to exercise their powers and their actions may well be valid.

A power of attorney can be cancelled at any time, as long as the donor still has mental capacity.

An automatic cancellation is where the power of attorney becomes void, without the need for revocation. A power of attorney is automatically cancelled if there are no replacement attorneys (or the attorneys can only act together) and when:

• the attorney refuses to accept the appointment
• the attorney dies
• if the attorney is married (or in a civil partnership) to the donor and the marriage/civil partnership is ended by divorce/dissolution unless the POA states that the appointment is not to case
• the attorney ceases to have the capacity to exercise the power
• the attorney is removed by the Court of Protection

The power of attorney will end if the attorney dies and there is no replacement. If the power of attorney is registered, the donor must tell the OPG and provide them with:

• a copy of the death certificate
• the original and all certified copies of the power of attorney, and
• a return address that the documents can be sent back to.

No, the attorney should not be a witness to the donor's signature on the revocation.

When the donor dies, the power of attorney ends automatically. After death, the donor's affairs will be looked after by the executors or personal representatives at this point, not the attorney.