Enduring power of attorney: why to set one up while you’re well

Most of us assume our partner or children could step in if illness or an accident left us unable to manage. Without an enduring power of attorney (EPA), they can’t. Your family, your spouse included, would have to apply to the Family Court for the right to make decisions for you.

An EPA lets you choose that person now, while you can.

The two kinds of EPA

New Zealand has two types. A property EPA covers your money and assets, such as bank accounts, bills, your benefits and buying or selling property. A personal care and welfare EPA covers your health, medical treatment and where you live.

You can have more than one attorney for property, acting together or separately. For personal care and welfare, you can have only one.

Your attorney must be at least 20, not bankrupt and not subject to a court order about their own care or property. A trustee company such as Public Trust can be your property attorney, but not your personal care one.

There are limits on both. An attorney can’t make decisions about your marriage or divorce, adopt on your behalf or refuse treatment that would save your life.

When it takes effect

You decide when a property EPA starts. It can apply from a time you choose while you’re still capable, or only once you’ve lost capacity. A personal care and welfare EPA only ever applies once you can’t make decisions yourself.

For significant matters, a health practitioner has to certify that you’ve lost capacity, or the court has to decide. The Office for Seniors says that could be a GP, a doctor who specialises in caring for older people, or a mental health nurse. The law starts from the assumption that you can make your own decisions.

You can change your mind while you’re capable. To cancel an EPA or remove an attorney, give them written notice.

Until they’re told, they can keep acting. An EPA ends when you die, and then your will takes over.

How to set one up

You use the official forms, which you can download free from the Ministry of Justice or the Office for Seniors. Your signature must be witnessed by someone independent of your attorney. That person must be a lawyer, a qualifying legal executive or an authorised officer of a trustee company.

Your witness explains what the EPA means and certifies that you understand it, including the risks, and that nobody is pressuring you. You pay your witness for their time. The Office for Seniors notes that some lawyers give a SuperGold discount, so ask.

Public Trust prices its online EPAs at $219 each, with witnessing included, and the documents are drafted online. You still need to see someone in person to finish. These are its indicative prices from October 2026.

Diane Turner, director of the Office for Seniors at the time, made the case in 2025, when the office’s elder abuse awareness campaign focused on EPAs. “Establishing an EPA is a crucial step anyone can take to safeguard older people’s rights.”

In February 2026, the Law Commission recommended replacing the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, which governs EPAs, and setting up a voluntary register. The Government has accepted the replacement in principle and plans to start substantive work next parliamentary term.

There’s no Bill yet, so the current rules still apply.

If you don’t have an EPA, put it on the list alongside your will. Choose someone you trust, talk to them about what you’d want, and keep a copy where your family can find it.