A ‘limited power of attorney’ is very similar to a general power of attorney except that it imposes specific and sometimes substantial limits upon the authorisation granted to your attorney. This could, for example, be a limit to the scope or duration of the authority granted to him.

Often, people granting powers of attorney limit their attorney’s authority to completing specific transactions or tasks. For example, you may appoint someone as your attorney solely for the purpose of having them sign a document on your behalf but only in a format pre-approved by you and attached to the power of attorney document itself. Alternatively, you can appoint your attorney for the sole purpose of dealing with a single task or transaction (such as the sale of a piece of land to a specified individual at a specified price). These types of limitations remove a substantial part of the risk associated with granting powers of attorney.

Similar to the position with a general power of attorney, you will remain personally liable for the actions of your attorney. In addition, a limited power of attorney will automatically come to an end in the same way as a general power of attorney would.