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Paper 1 · Lesson 2 — Land, Title Types, Capacity, Powers of Attorney and Fixtures

Powers of attorney and wills

Plain PoA vs lasting PoA vs will; donee powers and limits; LPA sale due-diligence steps and their sequence; revocation; joint-and-several; overseas execution; the no-LPA court-deputy route; will witnessing.

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Question 1

An owner is abroad on a long posting and cannot attend to sign the papers for the sale of his house, though he is in good health and has himself decided to sell. He appoints his brother to act for him in Singapore.

Which statement is correct?

  1. A. The brother may decide whether and at what price to sell, standing in the owner's place.
  2. B. The brother may sell only with the written approval of the buyer's solicitor first.
  3. C. The brother may do nothing until the owner returns, an absent owner suspending the sale.
  4. D. The brother may sign the documents, but the decision to sell remains the owner's own.
Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: D

The rule. Under a plain power of attorney the donor is capable but unavailable. The donee may sign the documents; the decision whether and at what price to sell stays with the owner.

Why D is correct. The brother may sign, but the decision to sell remains the owner's.

The other options.

  • A gives the brother the decision.
  • C suspends the sale until the owner returns, when signing is exactly what the power of attorney enables in his absence.
  • B invents a buyer's-solicitor approval.

Exam note. A plain power of attorney conveys the pen, not the judgement. The owner still decides; the donee only signs.

Under a plain power of attorney the donor is capable but unavailable →

Question 2

A salesperson is being taken through the differences between a will and a lasting power of attorney, and in particular through the formalities each requires to be valid. She is asked about the witnessing of a will: the number of witnesses the law requires, and whether a person who stands to inherit something under the will may be one of those witnesses, or whether that would cause a difficulty. She has a vague memory that a beneficiary is not a suitable witness but is not sure whether the rule stops there or reaches further, to the beneficiary's family as well.

Which statement is correct?

  1. A. A will needs no witnesses at all, the testator's own signature giving it its effect.
  2. B. A will needs two witnesses, and a beneficiary may witness it without any difficulty.
  3. C. A will needs two witnesses, neither a beneficiary nor a beneficiary's spouse among them.
  4. D. A will needs one witness, who must himself be a beneficiary named in the document.
Show the answer and full explanation

Answer: C

The rule. A will must be witnessed by two persons, and neither witness may be a beneficiary or a beneficiary's spouse.

Why C is correct. Two witnesses, neither a beneficiary nor a beneficiary's spouse.

The other options.

  • A dispenses with witnesses.
  • B lets a beneficiary witness.
  • D cuts the number to one and requires him to be a beneficiary.

Exam note. Two witnesses, and a beneficiary is disqualified — as is the beneficiary's spouse, which is the half candidates forget.

A will must be witnessed by two persons →

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