In accordance with current legislation, a wide variety of types of powers of attorney are provided, therefore, their purpose and features must be correctly understood. After all, do not forget that this is a fairly responsible document that allows you to solve any incomprehensible situations with government agencies.
What are they like?
Types of powers of attorney are as follows:
- One-time. Such a document is executed only for a specific action. For example, a similar format of power of attorney is used to sign various agreements, exchange housing space, as well as purchase or sale of cars and real estate.
- Special. It is issued in order to conduct a series of similar actions over a period of time. Quite often, a similar version of the power of attorney is drawn up for litigation.
- General. It is issued so that a person can manage and dispose of the property of the principal, and if necessary also make certain transactions with him, including sale and pledge. The issuance of such a power of attorney is carried out by the principal in case of its too long absence. The name itself suggests that the trustee receives maximum freedom of action.
What does this document give?
The actions that allow the implementation of various types of powers of attorney can be very different, ranging from collecting the necessary documentation in various instances and ending with the alienation of various real estate and receiving money due to the seller. Thus, the person who received the power of attorney has the right:
- manage and dispose of the property provided;
- conduct various transactions, including also sale and pledge of property;
- get a loan;
- carry out all kinds of Bank operations;
- Sign contracts on behalf of the principal;
- to represent his interests in court.
How is it made out?
Regardless of which types of powers of attorney are considered, within the country this document is drawn up at any notary, and it does not matter where the notary is located, as well as where the trustee and the property are located. But it must be understood that in this case only the original is considered.
Making a power of attorney is a civil law transaction, and for this reason it should be carried out in full accordance with the various requirements that the current legislation imposes on such transactions.
What are these requirements?
In the overwhelming majority of cases, a certain form is provided for a power of attorney, which, if necessary, can be found at notaries. The power of attorney is issued exclusively in writing, and in order for it to be considered valid, standard writing is sufficient.
The paper may be printed or written by hand, and may also be in the form of a special document or some other form. Thus, if a person expresses trust at a distance, then in this case the form of power of attorney can be transmitted via fax, telegraph or e-mail. A notarized power of attorney is printed on a special form, and at the same time it must bear the seal and signature of the notary public.
It is extremely important that the form of the power of attorney includes all the necessary information:
- credentials of a representative;
- in what institutions representation of the principal is allowed;
- what actions can be performed on behalf of the principal;
- details of the trustee and trustee;
- date of preparation of the document.
It should be noted right away that in the absence of a date, the document has no legal force and is no more than a standard sheet of paper.
The power of attorney is a registered document, and therefore, it must indicate the person to whom it is issued, as well as the person issuing it. A general power of attorney, like any other, can be issued both in the name of one person, and immediately to a specific group of persons who can act together or separately. In the same way, not one person can issue this document, but several at once.
Term
The time during which the general power of attorney will be valid (or any other) is set in accordance with the preferences of the principal, but at the same time can not be more than three years. If the period is not indicated, then in this case the validity period of the document is exactly one year from the date of issue. The only exception here is the so-called perpetual notarized power of attorney, which is issued in the event that a person must perform certain actions abroad.
A person who draws up a power of attorney for a car or other property may, if desired, cancel the action of this document by recalling it through a notary public who is engaged in its execution. Moreover, without fail in as soon as possible the completion of this power of attorney is communicated to the person in whose favor this document was issued. Until that person receives the news of the cancellation, the rights granted by this power of attorney remain in effect. Accordingly, in the same way, a proxy can at any time renounce all the powers that a power of attorney gives him on a car or other property.
Is the trustee the owner?
Of course, no kind of this document makes the person in whose favor it is issued the owner. In other words, regardless of whether the person received the power of attorney by mail or executed it at the notary’s office with the principal, he has no right to carry out various transactions in relation to himself personally, and if he was entrusted with the purchase and sale of any real estate, then even in the case of issuing a general power of attorney, he is not entitled to sell it to himself.
A person can and must personally carry out all the actions provided for in the document. Often there are situations when a person who has received the rights to complete a certain transaction is not able to carry them out for one reason or another. It also happens that a person changes his mind or begins to have doubts about the correct choice of a trustee. That is why it is best to draw up a document with the right of submission, even if you sent the power of attorney by mail after notarization. At the same time, it must be correctly understood that the validity period of a substitution should not exceed the validity period of a power of attorney. Subsequently, it will be possible to cancel the reassignment, but those whom you decide not to trust anymore must also receive the corresponding notice.
If the supervisor does not carry out this procedure, then in this case the responsibility for the actions of the person to whom the powers were delegated lies entirely with him. In the same way, a proxy can transfer his powers to others, provided that this is specified in his main activity. Accordingly, a certified document must also be certified by a notary public.
How to make out?
A power of attorney to obtain the right to execute any real estate transactions should be made only in favor of those people whom you trust as yourself.Although in such situations, there is the option of issuing a one-time power of attorney for the execution of certain orders, which is drawn up in favor of a real estate agent engaged in the collection and preparation of necessary documentation. This option has minimal risks.
Possible Buyer Risks
If, however, a general power of attorney is issued to receive the right to make transactions with your real estate, then in this case you need to be as careful as possible, because there is a rather high degree of risk, and this is especially true for the buyer, since he does not know the person who issued this power of attorney, nor the circumstances under which it was signed. For example, a person could be intoxicated or mentally ill, as a result of which he could not give an account of the actions taken, and also put a signature under the threat of violence, which later gives him the right to demand the cancellation of not only the power of attorney, but any transactions that were made with her.
Such situations also happen that the authorization is withdrawn by the principal or he is not even alive, as a result of which the transaction is carried out according to an invalid document. In other words, it is most often not possible to verify absolutely all possible situations, and everything can end with lengthy litigation, as well as the loss of real estate and the money spent on it. In the end, there are situations when the power of attorney is still invalidated, as a result of which the completed transaction is terminated, and buyers are simply evicted.
Possible seller risks
The seller risks quite a lot if he decides to entrust his own apartment to a stranger or to a private intermediary. Often there are situations when a power of attorney to represent the principal during the sale of property is falsified so qualitatively that it is almost impossible to determine the catch without examination. Unfortunately, over the past few years, more and more often there are situations related to the fact that fraudsters, using fake powers of attorney, sell various real estate. Of course, they face liability in accordance with the current Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses.
How to save yourself from problems?
To exclude any difficulties, drawing up the power of attorney of an individual, you should remember a few useful tips:
- The seller should specify as much as possible all the actions for which the authorized person will be authorized, after which they should be listed in extremely detail in the document being prepared.
- Before you put your signature, extremely carefully read what exactly you trust. Often there are such situations that a person wants to draw up a power of attorney to conduct a certain simple operation, but in fact draws up a document for the sale of an apartment.
- The seller must personally sign the contract of sale, and also receive money for this, in no case not trusting any third parties. Quite often it happens that real estate agencies include this item in the preliminary contract, presenting it as an additional condition.
- Any power of attorney must be carefully checked. Go to a notary public and ask if it was really issued and not recalled. If it was certified, then in this case the notary must enter the relevant information in the register, and on any document in the lower part the registry number and date of issue are indicated. The only caveat here is that in this case it is difficult to carry out a check if the power of attorney for a legal entity or a physical person was drawn up in another city.
- If a person decided to purchase an apartment by proxy, then in order to exclude the possibility of using a fake, be sure to contact the owner of this property and make sure that the document is genuine and that the person is really going to sell his property. It is also necessary to clarify whether the person in whose favor the legal power of attorney was drawn up has the right to sell housing or, for example, only to draw up some kind of documentation. In the case when it is impossible to contact the client, it is recommended to simply refuse to complete such a transaction.
It is worth noting that any self-respecting real estate company without fail provides the buyer with the opportunity to meet with the owner of the apartment if the transaction is carried out by proxy.
When does it stop?
The power of attorney ceases to be valid in the following situations:
- her term expires or the representative commits an action for which he was granted authority;
- the power of attorney is canceled by the person who issued it, or the person who received the authority decides to refuse them;
- the legal entity in whose favor the document was drawn up was liquidated or reorganized;
- death or incapacitation person in whose favor the power of attorney was drawn up.
After the power of attorney ceases to be valid, the representative himself or the authorized successor shall return this document to the represented person or his successors.
Thus, in the process of drawing up a power of attorney, a sufficiently large number of nuances must be taken into account, because this is a responsible document that often provides strangers with many rights to manage your property. That is why any errors in the process of compiling this document can lead to extremely sad consequences. Best of all, if you are assisted in this by a professional lawyer who understands all the intricacies of drawing up power of attorney and is guaranteed to avoid any oversights that you could have allowed.
