You must have encountered a situation many times when you simply do not have time to do some work, but you cannot postpone it. You may have encountered some legal difficulties and concluded that the best way to protect your rights and interests is to hire a lawyer. Maybe some tasks are just too difficult and too complicated for you to do in person. In such cases, you can issue a power of attorney to another person.
The Law on Obligations is a general regulation that regulates the relevant provisions on power of attorney, and any special law may deviate from these general provisions by prescribing more lenient or stricter conditions.
What is a power of attorney?
With this document, you give the authority to another person to represent your interests on your behalf without your presence.
The proxy may undertake only those legal affairs for the undertaking of which he is authorized by the given procuration.
A proxy who has been given a general authorization may undertake only legal affairs that come into a regular business. A job that does not come into a regular business can be undertaken by a proxy only if he is specially authorized to undertake that job, ie the type of work to which he belongs.
A proxy may not, without special authorization for each case, assume a bill of exchange obligation, enter into a contract of suretyship, settlement, of the chosen court, or waive any right without compensation.
In which cases do people most often give someone consent to representation?
There are many unpredictable situations in the life of each of us and very often the representative is necessary when we least expect it, but these are some of the situations that are most often repeated. You may realize after reading this article that this move could have made your life easier several times so far.
1. You want to buy or sell real estate
Power of attorney for real estate transactions is extremely important because they allow you to sell or buy real estate without a personal presence in the place where it is located. This can simply be done for you by any natural, able-bodied, and adult person you have chosen – a lawyer, a friend, or a person you trust. Buying or selling real estate is one of the most common reasons for issuing power of attorney.
2. Power of attorney to withdraw money from a bank account
It happens quite often that old people do not know how to handle credit and debit cards, so they prefer to withdraw their pension at the bank. However, considering their age, it is often a very demanding and tedious job. The coronavirus pandemic, which threatens all citizens, and especially the elderly, who belong to the risk category, has also contributed to this. Giving another person the authority to raise a pension is very practical and useful for them.
3. Minors are crossing the border without parents
Grandparents enjoy spending their time with grandchildren, but if they are minors, it could be the problem to go with them across the border if you live abroad unless both parents do not sign a power of attorney approving it. In these cases, the period of the planned trip is also stated.
4. Representation in litigation
A very common example of giving a power of attorney is in the case when a lawsuit is being conducted, and you do not have time to be fully involved in it. All you need to do is authorize your lawyer and the job will be done on your behalf.
5. You want to travel across the border with a borrowed car
If you want to borrow a car from a friend and embark on a cross-border adventure, it is mandatory to have a power of attorney proving that the vehicle was borrowed, not stolen. On simplylawtemplates.com you can learn more about situations where it is good to give someone a procuration.
Power of attorney – in what form is it given?
Given that the Civil Obligations Act follows the principle of informality, no special form is prescribed for the power of attorney itself. However, if, for example, a person would like to issue a power of attorney to another person to enter into a contract for the sale of real estate, then the power of attorney must be in writing since the contract for the sale of real estate must be in writing. If it is prescribed for a legal transaction, ie if the condition for undertaking it is, for example, the form of a notarial deed, then the power of attorney must be in such a form. On the other hand, if an oral form is valid for concluding a contract, ie for undertaking a job, then a power of attorney will be valid and given orally, however, for security reasons it is always recommended to issue a written power of attorney for any form of work unless of course, it is value-insignificant.
Form of power of attorney
A power of attorney contract is generally an informal contract.
It must have an appropriate form only if it relates to the authority to conclude a contract for which a special (usually written) form is provided by law.
Given the scope of authority, the procuration may be:
- a) general – issued for all activities of regular management of some goods of the grantor (eg management of the movable and immovable property of the principal), excluding alienation and disposal, because such powers require a special power of attorney;
- b) special – issued for transactions that exceed the scope of regular business (eg alienation and disposal of the owner’s assets);
- c) extraordinary – issued in cases when the job has a special economic significance for the employer (eg taking on a bill of exchange obligation, concluding a guaranteed contract, settlement agreement).
When does the power of attorney expire?
There are several different situations in which a power of attorney is considered to have ended, and these are the following:
If the lawyer or power of attorney dies or goes bankrupt (depending on the case that led to it)
Annulled the contract between the lawyer and the party, and so on.
