Cancelation of power of attorney
Dear Sir,
A few years ago, we gave power of attorney to a friend in Spain, as we were told that we needed someone there who could sign for our purchase and other things that may be required.
For reasons that we don’t want to go into, we have decided to cancel the power of attorney and give it to someone else.
As you are probably aware, we are unable to travel to sign anything in
Spain for the time being, but we would like to know if there is a way to cancel the power of attorney from the UK.
Our advisor informs us that it has to be signed in Spain and emails are not valid.
Answer
You can sign the cancelation of the POA in the UK, and you can also grant the new POA in the UK.
These documents have to be signed in the presence of a notary public (not a solicitor) and you can probably find one near to you using the internet search engine, or the recommendation of your solicitor or lawyer.
Once it is signed, it has to be legalised by the Foreign Office by means of an Apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961. The notary usually takes care of this process.
Because the document will be used in Spain, presumably, it will either have to be written in the Spanish language, or officially translated into Spanish once it has been legalised.
If the POA you granted in favour of your friend was granted in the presence of a notary in Spain, the notary will have kept the original signed document.
It would be advisable for you or your new representative to take the original POA cancelation document to the Spanish notary to make a note that it has been cancelled.
This will stop any certified copies of the Spanish POA to be issued. It is also very important that the person you are revoking the POA be officially informed that the POA has been formally cancelled.
If you decide to grant the new POA in the UK, it will probably be advisable to have the new document drawn up for your new representative in both Spanish and English.
The reason for this is because a POA in Spain has to be interpreted restrictively to what is contained in this document, and if there is one word missing that describes what the representative is authorised to do on your behalf, then he unable to sign that document in particular.
If the word is missing and it is crucial for you to have done, a new document will have to be drawn up with the same process as before.
In the case of doubt, we would suggest you consult a lawyer in Spain. The UK notary public should also be able to give you advice and suggestions.
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This column is intended for informative purposes only and we strongly advise any readers to seek professional advice prior to taking any action.