General Power of Attorney

[Riekie]

Before you leave RSA, have a General Power of Attorney assigned to a trusted friend. Even if you think you won't need it, you will...... trust me. Registered mail to be signed for, credit cards to be collected on your behalf, documents to be signed regarding your property, etc etc. This is the form we used and so far we've had no trouble at all for it to be accepted. POWER_OF_ATTORNEY_Blank.doc (Your bank will require an additional document for Power of Attorney on your bank accounts, so check with them).

Another option as far as your bank accounts go: you can sign a "fax indemnity" with your bank which allows them to act on a faxed instruction from you. The bank has the form for you to fill in - just ask for it. Whenever you need to communicate with your bank, have funds transferred between accounts, bank cheques issued etc. you fax your instruction together with a copy of your fax indemnity - which they then compare to their copy for signatures and Bob's your uncle! (They don't have to know why you want the indemnity as anyone can do that - e.g. ppl who travels a lot, long periods of illness etc - same for the Power of Attorney....)

[Swerwer]

Before you leave RSA, have a General Power of Attorney assigned to a trusted friend. Even if you think you won't need it, you will...... trust me. Registered mail to be signed for, credit cards to be collected on your behalf, documents to be signed regarding your property, etc etc. This is the form we used and so far we've had no trouble at all for it to be accepted. POWER_OF_ATTORNEY_Blank.doc (Your bank will require an additional document for Power of Attorney on your bank accounts, so check with them).

So must this letter then be taken to a police office to be stamped?

[Riekie]

So must this letter then be taken to a police office to be stamped?

Any Commissioner of Oaths. We even had one signed here in Aus & verified by the Aus Police and it was accepted in RSA for the sale of our property & all the relevant conveyance docs....

[Pippa]

Hi Riekie,

Thank you VERY MUCH for the information and the document attached. We will definitely make use of it in the future.

Pippa

[Guest Bronwyn]

Sorry, but I would never sign a power of attorney in a million years. It means that person can incur debt in your name, sign sureties to third parties, anything. You might never even find out about it (if you are lucky).

Remember no matter how well you know a friend you may not realise they have a problem with money, or debt you're not aware of.

Rather stick to the second option of internet transfers as far as possible, and in a real 'emergency' it will only take a maximum of a week to courier something. It's worth paying for the courier.

Bronwyn

PS. Riekie - I have done everything else on your list though, thank you!

[Riekie]

Bronwyn, I fully agree - if you can not trust someone 100% don't give them POA. We are very fortunate to have friends we've known for 20 years and whom we trust with our lives (and our finances ).

[Rison]

We also asked good / trusted friends of ours to handle our banking affairs (Power of Attorney) and it worked out well. Especially because the sale of our property was not finalised before we left and those funds plus pension payouts (Lumpsums) had to be transferred to Aus. Without her assistance we would have struggled. Obviously you need to be careful in doing so.