power of attorney
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power of attorney
A written legal authorization that one person gives to another so that they can act on their behalf and make legally valid decisions.
Sie hat ihrem Anwalt eine Vollmacht ausgestellt, um den Vertrag zu unterzeichnen.
She issued her lawyer a power of attorney to sign the contract.
The word is made up of 'voll' (full) and 'Macht' (power). It literally means that you give someone 'full power' to act on your behalf. This origin explains the legal meaning very well.
Mit dieser Vollmacht kann mein Bruder alle meine Bankgeschäfte erledigen.
With this power of attorney, my brother can handle all my banking transactions.
A power of attorney is officially 'erteilt' (granted) or 'ausgestellt' (issued). The person who receives it 'hat' (has) or 'besitzt' (possesses) a power of attorney. These verbs are typical of legal and formal contexts.
Meine Mutter hat mir eine Vollmacht für ihre Arztbesuche erteilt.
My mother granted me a power of attorney for her doctor's appointments.
To describe the purpose of the power of attorney, you use either the preposition 'für' (for) with the accusative or an infinitive construction with 'zu' (to).
Ich brauche eine Vollmacht für die Abholung des Pakets.
I need a power of attorney to pick up the package.
'Vollmacht' (power of attorney) is a formal term from legal and administrative language. In everyday speech, people would more likely speak of an 'Erlaubnis' (permission) or 'Genehmigung' (approval/authorization) if it is not about an official document.
Ohne schriftliche Vollmacht dürfen wir Ihnen keine Auskunft geben.
Without written power of attorney, we are not allowed to give you any information.
availability / order
Verfügung refers to the authority or control to decide about an account or assets oneself. A Vollmacht, by contrast, is granted by one person so that someone else can act on their behalf. Vollmacht is therefore the appropriate term for transferred power of representation.
Nora gibt ihrem Bruder eine Vollmacht, damit er in ihrem Namen über das Geld entscheiden kann.
Nora gives her brother power of attorney so that he can decide what to do with the money on her behalf.
Als Kontoinhaberin hat Nora die Verfügung über das Geld auf ihrem Konto.
As the account holder, Nora has control over the money in her account.
