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Power of Attorney for Use in Spain
This guide is, of necessity, both brief and general and is therefore no substitute for proper profession advice, which we will be happy to provide on request.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a formal legal document by which you give someone else the power to do certain things on your behalf.
Why do I need a Power of Attorney?
Under Spanish law many documents that, in this country, would simply be signed in front of a witness need to be signed, in Spain, in front of a Notary Public.
It is often inconvenient for the parties to attend in person before the Notary.
They will often, therefore, decide to grant a Power of Attorney in this country, authorising a named person to sign on their behalf in Spain.
In Spain there are also certain things that can only be done on your behalf by somebody having a Power of Attorney. Many of these do not need a Power of Attorney when they are done in England. These include the conduct of a court case by a solicitor and the signing of title deeds.
For these and other reasons Powers of Attorney are much more likely to be needed in Spain than they are in this country.
How can I make a Power of Attorney valid for use in Spain?
The simplest method is to have us prepare a suitable document, nominating the person whom you wish to appoint as your Attorney and giving him the appropriate powers to enable him to deal with your affairs.
That document — drafted in Spanish and with a translation into English for your use — can then be signed in front of any Notary Public. Notaries are to be found in most major English towns.
Whom should I appoint as my Attorney?
The person whom you appoint will have the power to undertake a considerable number of tasks on your behalf.
Sometimes the powers will be extensive.
The person appointed must, therefore, be somebody in whom you have confidence.
Because the tasks will need to be performed in Spain and, generally, over a protracted period then it is usually necessary — or at least highly desirable — that the person appointed should live in Spain.
We normally recommend the appointment of one of our Spanish Associates. They are Spanish lawyers answerable to their professional college and under a duty to act in accordance with your — their client's — instructions.
As it is often convenient for us to attend to certain functions ourselves or to appoint other people to carry out some function that may need to be performed in another part of Spain (such as in Madrid) we normally also suggest that John Howell be appointed alongside our Spanish colleagues.
This way, either or any of them can do the necessary things or sign the necessary documents on your behalf.
What happens after I have signed the Power of Attorney?
The document must be authenticated for use in Spain. This is done by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London.
We arrange for the authentication on your behalf.
The document then needs to be delivered to the person in Spain who has been appointed as the Attorney. Because of the expense of preparing the document we recommend that it is sent by courier rather than by post.
We will arrange this for you.
What if I want to cancel the Power of Attorney?
Notifying the person who has the Power of Attorney that you wish to cancel the arrangement is enough to bring the power to an end.
If there is any dispute between you and that person, or if you think that the person may wish to use the power fraudulently even though it has been cancelled, then it is sensible for the cancellation to be undertaken more officially.
We can arrange for this if it is necessary to do so.
What does all this cost?
Our charges for preparing a routine or ordinary Power of Attorney for a private individual are fixed at £150 + (in certain cases) VAT + disbursements — i.e. money which we have to pay out on your behalf. These disbursements will normally include a Notary's fee (if you do not pay it yourself) of about £45, a legalisation fee of £12 and couriers' fees of about £40.
If special clauses need to be drafted then we will charge for the work to be done on the basis of the time spent on the matter. This will be charged at our standard charging rates.
In this case we will give you an initial estimate of the amount of our likely charges.
That estimate will hold good unless and until it is amended by us in writing.
What about Limited Companies?
Powers of Attorney needed by Limited Companies are usually considerably more complicated to draft and deal with. As a result we charge for this work, too, on the basis of the time spent on the matter.
We will charge on an hourly basis, we will give you an initial estimate of the amount of our likely charges.
That estimate will hold good unless and until it is amended by us in writing.
What do I do next?
If you would like further advice, please telephone.
We can then have a brief discussion over the telephone and, if necessary, make an appointment so that we can meet to look at the matter in more detail.
We are used to acting for Clients from all over the world and, generally, find that it is not necessary to meet in order to deal with the preparation of a Power of Attorney for use in Spain. Of course, we are delighted to meet to discuss matters personally if that is convenient for you.
The International Law Partnership LLP
Solicitors & International Lawyers
The Vaults
Holborn Hall
193-197 High Holborn
London WC1V 7BD
Tel: 020 7061 6700
Fax: 020 7061 6701
Email: info@LawOverseas.comInternet: www.LawOverseas.com© John Howell & Co – February 2007
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