Property enduring power of attorney

The purpose of an EPA for property

An enduring power of attorney for property is one of the 2 types of EPA — personal care and welfare is the other.

Property can include anything of value that you own, lease, hire, or hold on hire purchase.

An EPA for property has some important differences from an EPA for personal care and welfare.

Only the unique aspects of an EPA for property are described here. For everything else see:

• Enduring power of attorney
• Create an enduring power of attorney
• Personal care and welfare enduring power of attorney
• Ordinary power of attorney versus enduring power of attorney
• Definitions of enduring power of attorney roles.

Examples of when an EPA for property might be helpful

A property EPA can be useful in a range of situations — not just because you’re getting older.

Living overseas for a few months

You’re going to live overseas for a few months and you need someone local to keep an eye on:

• your house
• the tenants living in your house
• any urgent issues that need dealt with — such as a blocked drain or if the tenants lock themselves out.

You’ll continue to pay the council rates, the gardener and your personal expenses.

You’ve moved into residential care and need to sell your house

You move permanently into residential care after having a bad fall. Before your fall, you had been living independently and taking care of all the decisions about your money, property and other assets.

You decide:

• even though you’re still mentally capable of making property decisions, you find doing the work that’s involved too stressful
• it’s time to activate your property EPA and for the people you’ve nominated to sell your house.

Your EPA is clear about what you want done and who will do it.

You need help now but it’s only temporary

Your mental capacity goes up and down and recently it’s been bad.

Sometimes you forget to pay your bills. You recently went to the grocery store without any money and it was only after you walked home that you remembered you’d driven there.

You’ve been assessed and your property EPA has been activated.

If your mental capacity improves, your need for this EPA can be reviewed.

Consider your options before setting up a property EPA

There are some decisions you need to make that are unique to a property EPA.

Consider these options before you create your EPA, to help reduce your legal costs.

• How many people do you want to share in the responsibility of looking after your money, property and other assets. You can have 1 or more attorneys and the same applies for successor attorneys.
• Do you want your attorneys to act together (jointly) or individually (separately) or both — jointly and separately?
• How will the responsibilities be shared among your attorneys — or will you let them decide?
• When do you want to activate your EPA — as soon as it’s created, sometime later or only if a suitably qualified medical practitioner decides you do not have the mental capacity to manage your property?
• If you have firearms, think about how you want them disposed of and decide if you’ll include instructions about their disposal in your property EPA.

Decide what’s appropriate for you

Talk to your lawyer or legal advisor to make sure your property EPA is appropriate for your situation.

• Are you single or in a relationship?
• Do you have children?
• Do you have pets?
• Is all your property relationship property, or is some just in your name?
• Do you want to have the same attorneys as your partner?
• Should you and your partner’s EPA be the same, similar or different?
• What do you want to have happen with your business?
• How much debt do you have?
• What are your financial goals?
• Should you and your partner activate your EPAs at the same time — or only if you’re assessed as being mentally incapable?

Understand relationship property — Ministry of Justice

Your attorney’s responsibilities under a property EPA

For a property EPA your attorneys may need to (if you’ve requested it):

• manage your money and bank accounts
• pay your bills, your mortgage and other debts
• represent you if you get a benefit or pension from Work and Income
• dispose of your firearms and ammunition as required by law
• buy or sell property and assets — such as selling your house and car after you move into a residential care facility
• file your tax returns, work with your accountant and Inland Revenue
• manage your properties — including finding tenants when needed
• manage your business, employees, suppliers, customers, business assets and property
• consult with you, your carers, family members, your other attorneys, successor attorneys and your welfare guardian.

Issues with your attorneys

If things go wrong — get help from the family court

Create your EPA for property

Get the EPA form online from the Ministry of Justice or ask for a copy wherever you get your EPA legal advice.

Set-up an EPA: get the forms — Ministry of Justice

Make sure you:

• get the right form
• also read the ‘Standard explanation of effects and implications of an enduring power of attorney in relation to property’.

Activate your property EPA

You can choose when you’d like this EPA to be activated:

• as soon as you’ve created it
• sometime later, or
• only if a suitably qualified medical practitioner decides you do not have the mental capacity to manage your property.

If you recover and you’re assessed as having regained your mental capacity (by a suitably qualified medical practitioner), you can change, replace or cancel (revoke) your EPA by giving written notice to your attorneys and successor attorneys.

Change, replace or cancel your EPA

Prescribed information for certificates of mental incapacity — NZ Legislation

Property manager and property orders — instead of an EPA

If you cannot manage your property yourself anymore and you do not have an EPA, your family can apply to the family court to have someone appointed as your property manager.

The family court can also help if there’s conflict between your attorneys — for the same EPA or across both types of EPA.

Disposal of firearms and ammunition

If you’re a firearms licence holder, consider including instructions in your property EPA about the disposal of your firearms, other arms items and ammunition.

When creating your EPA, ask your lawyer to provide instructions that:

• include the details of a suitable person, persons, or organisation to be contacted to take possession of your firearms, other arms items and ammunition
• indicate if you want to gift, donate or sell the items, or surrender them to New Zealand Police for destruction
• explain what to do with the money received from selling your firearms, other arms items and ammunition — if that’s how you want them to be disposed of.

If your property EPA is activated because you do not have the mental capacity to take care of your property yourself, your attorney must contact Te Tari Pūreke, the Firearms Safety Authority as soon as possible.

If your activated EPA for property does not include these instructions and your attorney does not have a firearms licence, your attorney must dispose of your firearms, other arms items and ammunition in an appropriate manner, as follows:

1. contact Te Tari Pūreke as soon as possible — call 0800 844 431
2. provide the donor’s full details
3. supply a copy of the property EPA and confirmation that the EPA has been activated
4. give the serial numbers of the firearms
5. provide further details about the firearms, other arms items and ammunition, as requested by Te Tari Pūreke.

This requirement comes under the Arms Registry amendments to the Arms Act 1983 and came into effect on 24 June 2023.

Disposal of firearms and arms items — Firearms Safety Authority

Arms Act 1983 — NZ Legislation