The court & enduring power of attorney (EPA)

IMPORTANT: Due to the current COVID-19 situation, the process for signing and witnessing EPAs has changed.

Note: When you print the forms it's important to print them single sided.

On this page:

Setting up an EPA

An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is a legal document which sets out who can take care of your personal or financial matters if you can't. That person is called your attorney.

You can set up an enduring power of attorney through a lawyer or trustee corporation. You don’t need to go through the Family Court to set it up but the Family Court gets involved if any issues need to be sorted out.

The forms you will need to use to set up an enduring power of attorney for matters relating to your personal care and welfare, and financial matters (property), are below.

Form: EPA Personal Care and Welfare [DOCX, 139 KB]

Form: EPA Property [DOCX, 104 KB]

Standard explanation: EPA Personal Care and Welfare [PDF, 131 KB]

Standard explanation: EPA Property [PDF, 249 KB]

The Ministry of Social Development has more information about how an enduring power of attorney works and how to get one.

Promoting enduring power of attorney (EPA) | Te Tari Kaumātua (officeforseniors.govt.nz)(external link)

Involving the Family Court

The Court can provide advice to an attorney about using their powers, and help sort out any issues with an EPA.

It’s free to ask the Family Court to look into an enduring power of attorney.

Find your local Family Court

Types of EPA application

The court can be asked:

for directions - for example, about accounts to be kept by the attorney, or who will pay the expenses of the attorney
to take some action in respect of an EPA - for example, to decide whether a person is suitable to act as an attorney, or give permission for the attorney to make a Will for the person the EPA is for
to review an attorney’s decision.

Who can apply to the court

An application can be made by:

the attorney
the person who the attorney acts for
a relative of the person the EPA was made for
an attorney of the person the EPA was made for (but not the same attorney who is acting under the EPA. For example, a person may have appointed more than one person under different EPAs – 1 person to manage their financial affairs and 1 to manage their welfare)
a social worker
a medical practitioner or doctor
a trustee corporation
the principal manager of a place providing hospital care, rest home care or residential disability care to the person the EPA was made for
a welfare guardian appointed for the person
a person authorised by a body or organisation contracted by the government to provide elder abuse and neglect prevention services
a person who has the court’s permission to make the application.

You may want to talk to a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer, you may be able to get:

Certificate of non-revocation and non-suspension of EPA

If you are an attorney whose authority to act is questioned, you can certify, using the form below, that you have not received any notice that the EPA is terminated, your appointment is ended, or your authority to act is suspended.

Certificate of non-revocation and non-suspension of enduring power of attorney - Section 103C, Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 [DOCX, 17 KB]