power of attorney

I am looking at doing power of attorney to buy a property ive got this from my solicitor ( If we have to sign the power of attorney in the UK we will provide you with the draft to be notarized in the UK with full instructions )  So can some tell me how it works if i do the go signing in the UK.

I  just did one in ireland few weeks ago. I am assumimg it will be similar in the UK..

• Got instructions from Solicitor and copy of the Notary
• Solicitor sent POA to our nominated Notary in Ireland
• Booked Appointment with Notary (Notary explained process, cost and Implication)
• Signed all Pages of POA
• POA Stamped and signed by Notary (Both English and Spanish versions)
• Passport Pages attached to POA and signed by Notary
• POA must have the Hague Apostile (which was done at the Foriegn Affairs)
• Posted Back to Solicitor in Spain

VAO thanks for the info it's got to be cheaper than flying out to sign a bit a paper.Cheers

My son and I did POAs (Poders) ten plus years ago. He ownes property here but lives in UK.  

We did it by going to a notary here in Spain, so we had only his fees and as it was in Spanish no problems re translations, Apostille etc.   We decided to give each full power to act for the other.   That meant we could act for each other in all legal situations, including getting married or divorced etc.

One can can make limited power ones, as one would if say they were appointing a solicitor to act in the purchase of a property.

We also did not stipulate any expiry date so they are still effective

Very likely to be cheaper to go to Spain, especially if you can get a cheap flight.  The power of attorney will only be in Spanish, so you will need a translator with you (doesn't need to be a professional, anyone who can translate the document so that the notary is sure that you know what you are signing).  If your solicitor speaks decent English, he may go with you to the notary and translate for you, our lawyer in Marbella did this, we popped around the corner to a notary with him, it was all done in a few minutes.

The costs of signing in the UK add up, as stated by VAO, and will also include translation costs as you need to have a double column document with the PoA in Spanish with English translation in the second column. 

I hope this helps.

Thanks for that, i might go over and do it, my wife cant be at the signing if i go for the Spain option.

Newworld just in case I did not make it clear. You DO NOT NEED  a lawyer to do it. Even if you use one, as Ho said, you can only sign the POA before a notary. If that is in a tourist area, and maybe elsewhere too, they will almost certainly have a person on the staff who they use as the interpreter.  Taking just someone who 'gets by' will almost certainly not be a good idea. I know when a person s making a denuncia (crime report) the police will not use anyone who is not fluent, because if they make a mistake you would be committing a criminal offence  of making a false statement. Believe me this is not a joking matter.

We did our POA in Manchester and it was exactly as VAO described. I think it cost around £125 in notary fees including the apostile stamp for the Foreign Office (which the notary sorted). All very straight forward. We then just sent to Spanish solicitor by recorded post.

Heather: in Manchester ..... I think it cost around £125

I think my son and I paid around 40 euros each in Spain.

VAO:   Got instructions from Solicitor and copy of the Notary

• Solicitor sent POA to our nominated Notary in Ireland
• Booked Appointment with Notary (Notary explained process, cost and Implication)
• Signed all Pages of POA
• POA Stamped and signed by Notary (Both English and Spanish versions)
• Passport Pages attached to POA and signed by Notary
• POA must have the Hague Apostille (which was done at the Foreign Affairs)
• Posted Back to Solicitor in Spain

Much easier in Spain.  We  walked into the notary's office, not even an appointment, and all we needed was our passports.  No Apostille, no copies attached, etc.

I suspect prices may have changed over the last 10 years. Plus a flight is required to do it in Spain which is fine if you're going anyway. For us, doing it from the UK last year was the easiest and cheapest way. 

My husband also couldn't get out of work to go to Spain which was the other reason we did it from the UK.