Power of attorney misuse in New Zealand: the warning signs and what you can do about it
Misuse of an enduring power of attorney (EPA) happens when an attorney uses a donor's money or property for their own benefit rather than the donor's, and it is one of the most commonly reported forms of financial elder abuse in New Zealand (Office for Seniors, retrieved 9 September 2026). If you suspect it, the free Elder Abuse Response Service runs 24 hours a day on 0800 32 668 65, and the Family Court can suspend or remove an attorney.
What counts as misuse
An attorney's core legal duty is to act honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the donor, and for a property EPA, to manage the donor's affairs at least as carefully as a prudent person would manage their own (Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, ss 97 and 99A, New Zealand Legislation, retrieved 9 September 2026). Misuse is a breach of that duty, and it can range from small unauthorised spending to systematic depletion of an estate.
Financial abuse, including EPA misuse, is defined by the Office for Seniors as the illegal or improper use of another person's money, property or other assets, and the table below sets out the common forms it takes.
| Form of misuse | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised spending | Using the donor's bank account or credit card for the attorney's own expenses |
| Asset transfer | Moving the donor's property, investments or savings into the attorney's own name |
| Excessive gifting | Gifting the donor's money to the attorney or the attorney's family beyond what the EPA or the donor's known wishes allow |
| Coercion | Pressuring an incapacitated or vulnerable donor to sign documents or agree to transactions |
| Neglect of duty | Failing to pay the donor's bills, rent or care costs while continuing to control their money |
| Concealment | Refusing to account for transactions, or hiding records from family or the donor when asked |
(Office for Seniors; Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988; retrieved 9 September 2026.)
What are the signs of power of attorney abuse?
Warning signs include sudden or unexplained changes to the donor's bank accounts or will, unpaid bills despite adequate funds, the donor becoming isolated from other family or friends, missing property or valuables, or the attorney being reluctant to provide financial records when asked (Office for Seniors, retrieved 9 September 2026). No single sign proves misuse, but more than one occurring together is worth investigating.
What you can do
What can you do if an attorney is misusing their power?
You can call the Elder Abuse Response Service on 0800 32 668 65, text 5032, or email [email protected] for free, confidential help 24 hours a day; if the donor is in immediate danger, call 111 for Police (Office for Seniors, Te Tari Kaumātua, Elder Abuse Response Service, retrieved 9 September 2026). You can also apply to the Family Court for a review of the EPA, or contact a lawyer to act on the donor's behalf.
Who can you report power of attorney misuse to in NZ?
You can report suspected misuse to the free Elder Abuse Response Service (0800 32 668 65), to Police if there is a crime or immediate risk, or you can apply directly to the Family Court, which has the power to review, suspend or cancel an EPA and order an attorney to account for their actions (Ministry of Justice, The court and enduring power of attorney, retrieved 9 September 2026). If a trustee corporation such as Public Trust is the attorney, you can also raise concerns directly with that organisation.
Can an EPA be revoked if it is being misused?
Yes. If the donor still has capacity, they can revoke the EPA themselves in writing. If the donor has lost capacity, only the Family Court can cancel or suspend the EPA, appoint a new attorney, or order the existing attorney to provide accounts and repay misused funds (Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988; Ministry of Justice; retrieved 9 September 2026). New Zealand courts have used exactly these powers in reported cases: finding an EPA invalid, ordering attorneys to repay funds withdrawn for purposes other than the donor's benefit, and replacing them as attorneys with Public Trust, as set out in the Law Commission's own review of how misuse cases play out in practice (New Zealand Law Commission, Report 71, retrieved 9 September 2026).
What can the Family Court actually order?
The Family Court can review whether an attorney has been acting within their authority, suspend or cancel an EPA, appoint a new attorney or a property manager, and order an attorney to provide a full account of transactions and repay any funds used improperly (Ministry of Justice; New Zealand Legislation; retrieved 9 September 2026). It can also make a property order or a personal order under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 for someone who never had an EPA in place at all.
Can an attorney be held personally liable for misusing an EPA?
Yes. An attorney who breaches their duties can be ordered by the Family Court to repay money they misused, can be removed from the role, and in serious cases involving deception or theft can face criminal prosecution, separate from any civil recovery through the court (New Zealand Legislation; Ministry of Justice; retrieved 9 September 2026). Acting as an attorney is not a licence to spend the donor's money as though it were the attorney's own.
Do you need proof before reporting suspected misuse?
No. The Elder Abuse Response Service and Police both accept reports based on concern rather than proof, and a trained coordinator will assess the situation and help work out what evidence, if any, needs to be gathered next (Office for Seniors, retrieved 9 September 2026). Waiting for certainty before reporting often allows more harm to occur in the meantime.
How common is EPA misuse in New Zealand?
As many as 1 in 10 older New Zealanders will experience some form of elder abuse, and financial abuse, which includes misuse of an EPA, is one of the recognised categories alongside psychological, physical, sexual abuse and neglect (Office for Seniors, retrieved 9 September 2026). New Zealand does not currently operate a central register of EPAs, which the Law Commission's 2001 report on misuse of enduring powers of attorney flagged as one factor that makes monitoring harder (New Zealand Law Commission, Report 71, Misuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney, April 2001, retrieved 9 September 2026).
Can family members other than the donor apply to the Family Court?
Yes. Under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, a range of people, including relatives, the Public Trustee, welfare guardians and others with a genuine interest in the donor's welfare, can apply to the Family Court for orders relating to a suspected misuse of an EPA, not only the donor themselves (New Zealand Legislation, retrieved 9 September 2026). This matters because a donor who has lost capacity may not be able to raise the issue themselves.
Who is most at risk, and who misuses an EPA
The pattern the Office for Seniors describes is consistent: an abuser is often someone the older person depends on for support or care, commonly living with them or close to them, such as a family member, friend or neighbour, rather than a stranger or a professional (Office for Seniors, retrieved 9 September 2026). This does not mean family attorneys are usually a risk, but it does mean familiarity is not itself a safeguard, and the same checks are worth applying regardless of who holds the role.
The table below sets out the roles people can play once misuse is suspected, and what each one can practically do.
| Who | What they can do |
|---|---|
| The donor (if still capable) | Revoke the EPA in writing; appoint a different attorney |
| Family members or friends | Report to the Elder Abuse Response Service or Police; apply to the Family Court |
| The Public Trustee, welfare guardians and others with a genuine interest | Apply to the Family Court under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 |
| Police | Investigate and prosecute where theft, fraud or coercion occurred |
| The Family Court | Suspend, cancel or review the EPA; order an account of transactions; order repayment |
(Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988; Office for Seniors; Ministry of Justice; retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Can I check an EPA before it is misused, rather than after?
There is no public register of EPAs in New Zealand to search, so you cannot verify one exists or check its terms unless the donor, the attorney, or the lawyer who prepared it shares a copy with you (New Zealand Law Commission, Report 71, retrieved 9 September 2026). If you are concerned before any misuse has occurred, the practical option is to talk to the donor directly, or to the lawyer or trustee corporation who witnessed the EPA, while the donor still has capacity to explain their wishes.
Does the attorney have to show family members the accounts?
Not automatically. An attorney's duty to account runs to the donor and, where the Family Court orders it, to the court itself, but there is no general statutory right for other family members to demand records outside a court process (Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, retrieved 9 September 2026). If an attorney refuses to explain unusual transactions when asked in good faith, that refusal is itself one of the recognised warning signs, and it can support an application to the Family Court for an order requiring disclosure.
What happens to the misused money if the attorney cannot repay it?
The Family Court can order repayment, but if the former attorney has no assets or income to satisfy that order, recovery may be limited in practice, similar to any other civil debt (Ministry of Justice, retrieved 9 September 2026). Where the misuse also amounts to theft or fraud, a criminal prosecution and any resulting reparation order run alongside, not instead of, the civil recovery process.
Can misuse of an EPA affect the donor's will later?
Misuse itself does not change a will, but it can affect what is left in the estate for a will to distribute, and severe or ongoing misuse can also be relevant if the donor's testamentary capacity or the validity of a later will is challenged (general trust and succession law, retrieved 9 September 2026). If you are dealing with both a misuse concern and a will dispute at the same time, get independent legal advice on each, since they run on different legal tests.
Reducing the risk before it happens
The strongest protection is choosing the right attorney and structure before an EPA is ever needed. Naming more than one property attorney to act jointly means no single person can move money alone, though it also means all attorneys must agree on every transaction, which can itself cause delay; see our guide to power of attorney in NZ for how joint, several and majority decision-making work. Keeping a family member or accountant informed of transactions, choosing a professional trustee corporation such as Public Trust for a large or complex estate, and reviewing the EPA periodically are all practical steps that reduce the risk without removing the flexibility an EPA is meant to provide. Some families also look at a family trust or a testamentary trust written into a will as an additional layer of protection around specific assets, separate from the EPA itself, and, where a relationship is involved, the Property (Relationships) Act can also affect who ultimately has a claim on those assets.
Related situations
Suspected misuse often surfaces alongside other estate concerns, and getting the full picture matters. If the donor has since died, our guide to administering a deceased estate in NZ covers how an executor identifies and protects estate assets, probate in NZ covers the court step that follows, and if there is a dispute over the will itself, that runs on separate rules from EPA misuse, which only applies while someone is alive. If the person affected never set up an EPA at all, see dying without a will in NZ for what happens to their estate, and consider setting up an EPA and a will together: our main guide to power of attorney in NZ covers the types and costs, making a will in NZ covers the will side, and QuoteHub's own free will service is a no-cost option, since both documents are usually reviewed together.
Choosing a professional trustee corporation instead of a family member for a large or complex estate is one way to reduce risk; see Public Trust wills in NZ for how that option compares on cost, and family trust in NZ if the concern is protecting assets during your lifetime rather than after death. If the misuse has affected an insurance policy or claim, for example an attorney making decisions about a policy without the donor's knowledge, our guide to enduring power of attorney and insurance covers that specific interaction, life insurance sets out how a policy's own nominated beneficiary works alongside a will and an EPA, and who gets your life insurance payout in NZ covers that question directly. If the donor also held income protection or trauma cover, an attorney should not be managing a claim without keeping the donor's family informed, and a licensed financial adviser can help review what is in force. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. Our insurance adviser directory, including in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, can help you find one near you.
Adviser's view
QuoteHub's read on this cluster is that the law gives an attorney real, largely unsupervised power, on purpose, because requiring court sign-off for every transaction would defeat the point of an EPA. That design only works if someone is watching, which is why the warning signs below, and the 24-hour Elder Abuse Response Service, matter more in practice than the legislation itself.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Power of Attorney Misuse NZ: Signs, What to Do. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/estate/power-of-attorney-misuse-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.
References
- Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988
- Office for Seniors, Te Tari Kaumātua: Identifying Elder Abuse
- Office for Seniors, Te Tari Kaumātua: Elder Abuse Response Service
- Ministry of Justice: The court and enduring power of attorney (EPA)
- New Zealand Law Commission: Report 71, Misuse of Enduring Powers of Attorney (April 2001)
Explore related pages: Life Insurance, Income Protection, Health Insurance, Trauma Insurance, Referral.