Hi, First you have to issue a legal notice for revocation of General Power of attorney and
If the deed is registered, it should be revoked by a registered deed of revocation/cancellation and also made paper Publication in local daily newspapers.
Is a General Power of Attorney conferred upon my spouse valid after divorce
I had conferred a General POA to my ex-wife who was also the joint-owner of the property. That gave her pretty much all rights (sale, transfer etc) to my share of 50% over the property. Now we are divorced. Does the POA stand yet ? I read the following in 'http://www.legalindia.com/power-of-attorney/'. Is it correct? Revocation of Power of Attorney: A power of attorney may be revoked at any time by the principal or donor by giving a written notice to the agent, unless it is for a particular fixed period. Revocation usually possible when principal dies or becomes insane or becomes bankrupt. The principal himself can revoke power of attorney if the business for which the agent was appointed is over as mutually agreed upon by the principal and agent. In case if principal has named a spouse or registered domestic partner as his agent, his or her authority to act under the power of attorney is automatically terminated in the event of divorce, legal separation or termination of the registered domestic partnership.
Asked 8 years ago in Property Law
Religion: Hindu
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9 Answers
In a case of this type, the POA given to the spouse who is also the co-owner in the immovable property, her right will continue to exist up untill the existence of the joint ownership in the said property, this will not get extinguished by an order of Divorce.
In order to cancel this power given to her, you will need to revoke the GPA by issuing a written notice to the agent, until such time she continues to enjoy all the powers given to her under the said GPA.
1) it is in your interest to formally revoke POA granted to your wife to prevent your ex wife from misusing the POA granted to her
2) if on basis of thePOA your wife sells your 50 per cent share in flat you would have long legal battle ahead
3) it is true that POA stands terminated on divorce
The provision of law referred to by you under section 14 of the Power of attorney act 1882 is very clear to your question.
The POA deed automatically stands cancelled with effect from the date of your divorce with her, however as a courtesy sake you may communicate her that the said deed stands cancelled automatically under the said provisions and any act done by her after the effective date will not bind you and can be considered as illegal if done under that authority.
1. The document is required to be perused for proper advice,
2.The POA still stands in the name of your Ex-Wife, if it is an unconditional POA,
3. The POA was not executed keeping a condition therein that she can deal with your share of the property so long she stays your wife or can deal with it in the capacity of yiur wife only,
4. Revoke the said POA by sending the revocation letter,
5. If he POA is registered, get the Revocation also registered.
Unless the POA is revoked by you it is valid for all legal and practical purposes. Divorce does not have any nexus with the POA which was executed prior to divorce. You should revoke it if you do not want her to exercise all or any of the powers conferred on her.
Hello everybody, Thanks for your individual responses. However, as you can see I have received conflicting answers - some have said the POA is revoked upon divorce per the law while others advised the opposite. I don't think my question has been answered in that sense. Can someone please clearly state the Article->Section->Legislation that mentions the law?
Asked 8 years ago
A power of attorney given by one spouse to another may be revoked at any time in writing by the principal, the person giving it. In some states, a divorce between the parties automatically revokes a power of attorney from one spouse to another. In the event of a revocation or termination, it may be necessary to notify banks, financial institutions and other businesses of the revocation to prevent its further use.
Revocation of a power of attorney is a necessary when the purpose of which the POA is granted is no longer required or when the executants finds that the attorney is either misusing the powers under the POA or is acting against the interest of the executant.
No reasons need to be assigned in case a POA needs to be revoked. A POA is operational during the pleasure and consent of the executants. It can be revoked at any point.
If you find that the law is not specific about your issue regarding the automatic revocation of POA deed on divorce you can adopt the general procedure to revoke which are given in the following lines:
The procedure usually followed when revoking a POA is as follows:
1. A notice of stop of use and cancelling of powers under the POA so granted to the attorney has to be issued. This needs to be done by recorded delivery so that a valid date of cessation of powers is recorded.
2. Further the POA has to be cancelled at the registrar’s office where it was originally registered at the time of issue.
3. In case the POA had been in widespread use then it is always advisable to publish a public notice in a newspaper which has reasonable circulation in the city where the POA was issued.
4. A POA can also be cancelled by destruction of the original document.
1) in many states in USA on divorce POA stands nullified
2) the California Probate Code states that if after executing a power of attorney the principal’s marriage to the attorney-in-fact is dissolved or annulled, the principal’s designation of the former spouse as an attorney-in-fact is revoked.
3) In 10 states, the date of divorce automatically revokes powers of attorney granted from one spouse to another. These states include Wisconsin, Alabama, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana. However, powers of attorney remain in full force and effect pending the divorce and until it is final, unless they're revoked.
4) in UK Unless the Power of Attorney deed specifically provides otherwise, your spouse’s powers to act on your behalf would cease upon your divorce.
The difference of opinion is always going to be there. Even judges, who are appointed from amongst the lawyers, give split judgments. Every law is not structured in the sense that it is not passed by the legislature. There is something known as deducing the law.