What is a Power of Attorney and what is it for?

The power of attorney is a legal document in which a third party is granted the ability to act on behalf of the person whom they are going to represent, and in this sense the designated person can carry out or manage different types of procedures, delegate functions , make payments, make an appearance, among others.

It is usually used for the cases of special people or with some type of disability, older adults or when traveling and the interested person cannot make an appearance, it is also used at a commercial level to empower a representative of the company to carry out managements.

What is a power of attorney and what is it used for?

The power of attorney is a legal document of a private nature, destined in most cases for a public or private institution, where general or special powers are granted to one or more people who act on behalf of the signer, and must in all cases If they are of legal age and have the powers to exercise the act.

Normally two people act in a power of attorney, however, special cases may occur where two or more people are credited with the same power of attorney. In this case, the person who authorizes the power of attorney is called the “principal” and the person who receives it is called the “attorney-in-fact”.

When a power of attorney is carried out, people close to the environment, relatives, partners, friends, lawyers or subordinate people are usually used, that is, the right hand in the company, executive personnel, secretaries, employees, etc.

It is used so that the attorney-in-fact can carry out administrative or legal procedures that correspond by nature to the principal, in these cases it applies to a large number of types of movements and procedures, such as:

• Purchase and sale of movable and immovable property.
• Rental of furniture and real estate.
• Marriage procedures, separation agreements, divorces.
• Incorporation of companies.
• Account openings.
• Check cashing.
• Receive and request documents.
• Request financial statements.
• Representations in trials.
• Process inheritances and successions.
• School payments.
• Representing a sick or disabled person.

Power of Attorney types

You can refer to the special and general power of attorney, the principles are the same for both, however, they differ in the scope of the authorization:

Power of Attorney General Letter

In it, the principal authorizes the attorney-in-fact for a stipulated time to carry out administrative and legal procedures, whose decisions may adversely affect the principal. The general power of attorney can be annulled at the moment that the principal wishes it or, the stipulated process has been carried out.

Special Power of Attorney

In it, the principal authorizes the attorney-in-fact for a stipulated time to carry out procedures related to legal assets, meaning legal assets are any reality valued by human beings such as life, freedom, heritage, integrity, among others. The special power in any case can be limited to a specific cause, that is, for a specific purpose.

How do you write a power of attorney?

To write a power of attorney, the first thing you should know are the elements that it contains and the order in which they are established.

Items contain a power card

The elements contemplated in a power of attorney are basic data between the participants, place and date where the act is carried out, concept or purpose of the act, expiration date and acceptance through the signatures of the parties involved. Let’s see below the order in which a power of attorney must be filled out:

1. Subject: Power of Attorney.
2. Place and date where the act is established.
3. Who is the letter addressed to: institute, company, school, among others.
4. Full names and surnames of the principal and personal identification number.
5. Full name and surname of the authorized person (s) and personal identification number.
6. Full body of the message (specifies the end of the proxy).
7. Register of signatures of the parties involved.
8. Full names of witnesses and personal identification number.
9. Witnesses’ signatures.

What is the validity of a power of attorney?

There are no regulations that establish the duration of a power of attorney. When a power of attorney is granted, it is understood that the attorney-in-fact is empowered to exercise the conditions established in the document for a limited time.

In any case, the principal is the one who establishes the validity of the same, being able to retract or cancel the document at the moment that he wishes, addressing the relevant bodies to make manifest his will to cancel it.

If it is decided to annul a power of attorney, regardless of the parties involved, the will to do so must be stated, as well as demand the return or delivery of the original document that granted the powers, in certain cases it must be done under the supervision of a notary public.

Is it necessary to make a power of attorney under the supervision of a notary?

According to the conditions established in the document and the regulations or legal laws of each country. Usually it will depend on the type of grant that is being authorized and to the extent that the conditions imply greater responsibilities, in the same sense, the higher the requirements for it to be valid.

In any case, the best thing to do when processing a power of attorney is to present it to the competent institutions or under the participation of a notary, since the future behavior of the attorney-in-fact cannot be predicted.

Special cases in which a power of attorney is legally suspended

In addition to the cancellation of a power of attorney effective date or by decision of the parties involved, it will be suspended in the following cases:

• Due to the death of some of the parties involved. You can never apply a post-mortem power of attorney.

• By legal imperative, it will apply if any of the parties involved is not in the power to make a decision, either due to a physical or mental impediment or any legal course that prevents the exercise.

• If the established purpose is fulfilled, for example, if a power of attorney is granted to carry out a banking procedure, a vehicle sale, among others, when the act is satisfactorily fulfilled, it is understood that the power of attorney is automatically worthless.
• A power of attorney between the spouses is suspended when the legal request for annulment of marriage, separation of bodies or divorce has passed, since it is understood that there is no longer a relationship of trust between the parties involved.

However, with respect to the mandatory legal annulment there may be clauses that stipulate that, in the event that the principal is not in the power to make decisions or becomes incapacitated, the document is in no way annulled, however, it must be previously established in the original document.

Example of power of attorney for paperwork

LETTER OF POWER

Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 27, 2018

Who is it addressed to (Banco Provincia)

I, Ana Karina Gonzales Zerpa, bearer of the identification number 20,343,265, acting under my own consent and with full mental faculties, hereby grant Mr. José Ramon Pérez Pérez, bearer of the identification number 20,654,875, special, broad and sufficient power of attorney. so that I can carry out the following specific steps under my name:

• Request and withdraw statements of accounts under the banking institution.
• Request and withdraw checkbooks.
• Cash checks.
• Make turns.
• Full access to the money available in the account 01020309876495568 registered in my name.

To give proof of this legal document, Mr. Ismael Trejo García, bearer of identification number 26.668.812 and Mrs. Josefina María Trinidad Vegas, bearer of identification number 17.123.545, will act as witnesses.

Without further ado, we sign the following:

How to make a simple power of attorney?

The simple power of attorney authorizes the person to carry out procedures and steps to achieve a purpose that is not supposed to put our assets at risk or in danger, for example, when you are going to rent an apartment or a business premises through an advisor commercial.

The working model would be the following:

LETTER OF POWER

Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 27, 2018

To whom it May concern

I, Ana Karina Gonzales Zerpa, bearer of the identification number 20,343,265, acting under my own consent and with full mental faculties, hereby grant Mr. José Ramon Pérez Pérez, bearer of the identification number 20,654,875, special, broad and sufficient power of attorney. to carry out the leasing procedures for the premises registered in my name, which is located in the Plaza Argentina Shopping Center, 5th floor, number 34-5, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

To give proof of this legal document, Mr. Ismael Trejo García, bearer of identification number 26.668.812 and Mrs. Josefina María Trinidad Vegas, bearer of identification number 17.123.545, will act as witnesses.

Without further ado, we sign the following:

Risks run under a power of attorney

When granting a power of attorney, it is necessary to choose a person of trust, it is necessary to know the background of the same, since by means of a power of attorney there is a risk of suffering substantial losses or damages caused by the actions of the attorney-in-fact.

Debts and charges can also be carried forward if these clauses are not clarified in the document. It is always important to seek advice from a lawyer to set certain limits on the performance of attorney-in-fact.

Conclusion Is the power of attorney recommended?

Of course, the power of attorney is recommended since it allows a person to express their decisions through a representative, without the need to be present. It is even more advisable to consult with a lawyer in advance the limits that can be established in the document, to try to protect all legal assets as much as possible.