Most people make an Enduring Power of Attorney at the same time as making a Will.

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A Power of Attorney is a document you can sign to appoint another person (called your Attorney) to act for you in relation to your legal and financial affairs. For example, a duly executed Power of Attorney allows your Attorney to manage your financial affairs for you, be it carrying out your banking, dealing with statutory authorities or even Telstra! A registered Power of Attorney will allow your Attorney to sell or deal with your Real Estate or Shares. Ultimately a Power of Attorney can be quite narrow and specific in what it allows your Attorney to do or the powers you give your Attorney can be as general as you wish. Any lawful action taken by your Attorney is binding on you, so it is important to appoint someone you can trust.

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An Enduring document continues to operate even if you lose legal capacity. Capacity relates to soundness of mind and to an intelligent understanding and perception of one's actions. Capacity can be lost through an age related illness or even an unfortunate accident. Legal documents can only be signed by a person with capacity. Therefore it is essential that you appoint someone you trust to act on your behalf while you still can.

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In QLD, an Enduring Power of Attorney also includes Enduring Guardianship to appoint someone to manage your health and life style decisions. These are two separate documents in NSW.