Power of Attorney Services | Hillcrest Family Lawyers Sydney

Power of Attorney Lawyers in Sydney

A power of attorney lets someone you trust handle your financial and legal affairs if you can’t. We draft, review, and register enduring and general powers of attorney for clients across NSW.

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What a Power of Attorney Actually Does

A power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone, your attorney, to manage your financial and legal affairs on your behalf. In NSW, there are two types that matter.

A general power of attorney covers a defined period or purpose. It’s useful if you’re overseas, in hospital, or settling property while interstate. It ends if you lose capacity.

An enduring power of attorney continues to operate if you later lose capacity through illness, injury, or conditions such as dementia. Without one, your family may need to apply to NCAT for a financial management order.

How We Approach Power of Attorney Matters

Every power of attorney carries different stakes, protecting an ageing parent, selling property from overseas, planning ahead of a diagnosis. Our approach is built around what your situation actually requires.

Drafted for Your Circumstances:

A power of attorney drafted for a property sale looks different to one made in early dementia planning. We tailor the document, the conditions, and the limits to your specific situation, your assets, and the person you're appointing.

Capacity Assessed Properly:

The legal requirements for making a power of attorney in NSW turn on capacity. We work through the capacity test carefully, document our assessment, and refer for medical opinion where needed, particularly in matters involving cognitive decline.4

Registered and Ready to Use:

If your attorney needs to deal with real estate, the document must be registered with NSW Land Registry Services. We handle registration, certified copies, and the practical steps your attorney will need when the time comes to act.

NCAT and Dispute Experience:

When attorneys overstep or families disagree, matters often end up at NCAT's Guardianship Division. We act in revocation, removal, and tribunal applications across NSW, and draft documents designed to reduce the risk of dispute later.

At Hillcrest Family Lawyers, we are dedicated to ensuring that your Power of Attorney arrangements are set up effectively, giving you confidence that your affairs will be managed according to your wishes.

Responsibilities Granted to Your Attorney

In NSW, a power of attorney covers financial and legal decisions only. Your attorney acts with real authority.

Understanding the boundaries matters before you sign anything.

Sign contracts, legal documents, and agreements on your behalf, including property settlements, loan documents, and conveyancing transactions across NSW.
Manage your bank accounts, pay bills, and handle day-to-day financial obligations while you're overseas, incapacitated, or unavailable.
Buy, sell, or transfer real estate, including registering the transaction with NSW Land Registry Services if the property is in your name.
Manage your investment portfolio, superannuation instructions, and financial assets within the authority the document grants them.
Collect rent, manage tenancy agreements, and handle repairs or disputes on any investment property you own in NSW.

A power of attorney doesn’t cover healthcare or lifestyle decisions. For those, you need to appoint a separate enduring guardian under NSW law.

Power of Attorney or Enduring Guardian

A power of attorney handles money. An enduring guardian handles the rest.

If your mother has a stroke and the bank needs someone to access her accounts, that’s a power of attorney matter. If the hospital needs someone to consent to surgery on her behalf, that’s an enduring guardian. Two different documents under two different NSW statutes, doing two different jobs.

The Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW) governs the enduring guardian appointment. It covers medical consent, accommodation decisions, and the day-to-day care choices a family member would normally make.

Most people who walk in for a power of attorney leave with both documents. There’s no point sorting out who can sell the house if no one can authorise the nursing home placement.

The catch is capacity. Both documents require legal capacity at the time of signing. We see families every month who waited six months too long after a dementia diagnosis and now have to apply to NCAT instead, which costs more, takes longer, and removes the family’s say in who is appointed.

Already Acting Under a Power of Attorney That Doesn't Cover What You Need?

Plenty of attorneys discover the limits mid-transaction, the document doesn’t authorise the property sale, the bank won’t accept it, or capacity has shifted. We review existing powers of attorney across NSW and rectify what’s missing.

Call us Today

+61 (029) 659-4561

What Our Clients Say

Most clients come to us during a difficult stretch, a parent losing capacity, a property sale stalled, a power of attorney that needs revoking. Below are reviews from people we’ve worked with across Sydney and regional NSW.

5.0 Google Reviews

“Tamara Al Hashimi is knowledgeable in all aspects of family law. She is honest, direct and did an exceptional job with my case. Tamara took the time to hear all of my concerns and clearly, concisely outlined all the different courses of action including the positives and negatives with each choice. Without hesitation, I give Tamara my highest recommendation.”

Naveen Khan

5.0 Google Reviews

“Highly recommend the services of Hillcrest lawyers! Tamara helped me construct and write my will. She’s very knowledgeable and honest with her clients. Her guidance and advice made writing a will very straightforward and easy. I would give beyond 5 stars if I could!Keep up the amazing work TamaraSuper strongly recommended 🙂

Thank you sooo much Tamara for all your hard work!”

Munna AI

5.0 Google Reviews

“I’ve had the pleasure of having Tamara as my Solicitor for the past 4 and a half years. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my protecting myself and my son. I went to Tamara scared and broken and she fought for us and saved me from a life of panic and fear and saved my son from a very dangerous person. I can’t thank her enough for the empathy, strength and loyalty she provided me. Not only did I receive the outcome I wanted, I also gained a lifelong friend.”

Korelle

Power of Attorney Questions We're Asked Most Often

The questions below come up in nearly every initial consultation. If yours isn’t covered here, we’d rather work through it on a call than guess at it in writing.

Call us Today

+61 (029) 659-4561

Email Us Today

tamara@hillcrestlaw.com.au

Q: Does a Power of Attorney need to be registered to sell property in NSW?

Yes, for any transaction involving land. Until the POA is registered with NSW Land Registry Services, no conveyancer will act on it and no bank will release mortgage funds. The registration itself is straightforward; we lodge it as part of drafting so the document is ready when your attorney needs it.

Q: Can my parent sign a Power of Attorney if they have dementia?

Often, yes. An early dementia diagnosis doesn’t automatically remove the ability to sign. The legal test is whether your parent understands the appointment they’re making, who they’re choosing, and what authority that person will have. We arrange a GP or geriatrician assessment on the day of signing, which heads off most later challenges.

Q: What happens if someone loses capacity without a Power of Attorney in NSW?

Then someone has to apply to NCAT’s Guardianship Division for a financial management order. NCAT decides who manages the finances, not the family. The application typically takes three to six months, and the outcome often divides siblings who disagree about who should be appointed. It’s the situation we spend most time preventing.

Q: Can an attorney sell my house to themselves or a family member?

Not unless the document specifically authorises it. An attorney owes a fiduciary duty to the person who appointed them. Selling to themselves or a related party at anything other than market value is a breach. The sale can be unwound and the attorney ordered to repay the difference personally.

Q: Who is legally allowed to witness an Enduring Power of Attorney in NSW?

A prescribed witness. In practice that means a solicitor, occasionally a barrister or a registrar of the Local Court. The witness has to explain the document to the person signing and certify they understood it. Anyone who stands to benefit under the will is disqualified, as is the attorney themselves.

Q: How do I revoke a Power of Attorney if I change my mind?

Sign a deed of revocation, then give written notice to your attorney. If you registered the original POA with NSW Land Registry Services, register the revocation too, otherwise the old document still appears valid on title searches. Tell your bank and conveyancer separately. We handle the lot.

Speak to a Sydney Power of Attorney Lawyer

Most people contact us after something has already gone wrong, the document wasn’t witnessed correctly, the bank won’t accept it, or capacity was lost before anything was signed. A single conversation with a senior NSW estate planning lawyer is usually enough to know where you stand.