How to fill out a power of attorney

For the rest, the power of attorney does not need to be notarized, in some exceptions, if its value is purely formal, that is, it is only valid between the parties, this occurs because on repeated occasions it is necessary to present it in a company or institution to respect the procedure to follow, complying with the due guarantee.

At the time of being signed by the grantor, the presence of two witnesses is required, as contemplated in the Civil Code, if it is to provide assistance or representation in various legal acts.

How the power of attorney works

A power of attorney must be legalized when actions that warrant it are going to be carried out, such as, for example, collecting money . For this, it is required that it be duly legalized.

In another vein, the power of attorney is considered a power of attorney when the grantor empowers another person to represent him in legal acts that are in his name or are inherent to him. That is, the authorized person will assume the presence of the grantor.

In the case of proxy letters that do not require to be notarized, they are private authorizations granted for a specific purpose, such as: carrying out an administrative procedure before an institution. For this type of power of attorney, the signature or presence of a lawyer is not required.

Characteristics of the power of attorney

The power of attorney must be clear and precise regarding the granting. This must describe the name of the person who will act as attorney-in-fact, as well as other characteristics, such as:

• The use of simple and understandable language.
• Write clearly who the proxy will represent and how long that power of attorney will last.
• Describe who grants the authorization or power and who or who will be the proxies, identifying them with their full names, identity card number and their corresponding signatures.
• As it is a limited document, the attorney-in-fact is not authorized to exercise any action that is not contemplated in the power of attorney, but only that which is identified in the text.
• The grantor never loses his decision-making power, since he only authorizes the attorney-in-fact for his representation and any decision he wants to make must be consulted with the grantor, otherwise it may be denied.
• The represented or grantor has the full right to cancel the letter when he deems it appropriate, regardless of the term that has been established.

Power of attorney classes

There are 2 kinds of power of attorney, which are specified according to their purpose or according to their scope, including the duration.

1. According to its purpose

• Notarized power of attorney : it is that type of letter that is used to accredit an individual as a proxy for some activities that legally belong to another person. This power of attorney is widely used by institutions or companies, which expeditiously allows someone else to delegate some tasks and activities, in addition to being able to execute certain decisions on behalf of the company.

This type of letter can be revoked by the grantor at any time, regardless of the term.

• Administrative power of attorney : it is the one used to perform the representation in acts of a commercial or administrative nature, or to do business on behalf of the person represented, such as making loan applications or opening bank accounts. In this type of relationship, trust and security must be deprived
• Simple power of attorney : is one that is used to carry out procedures or proceedings on behalf of the represented party. As an example, among some procedures it is worth mentioning: vehicle registration, change of license plates or any government order procedure.
• Letter of judicial power : this type of letter is written to delegate activities or specifically judicial actions. It is a document widely used by lawyers, who choose to represent their clients in cases of lawsuits, complaints or everything related to legal proceedings.

They are letters with a temporary duration, since they are automatically revoked when the judicial process ceases.

1. According to its amplitude or duration

• General power of attorney : these are the letters that allow the attorney-in-fact to carry out various procedures for an indefinite period of time.
• Specific power of attorney : are those that have a precise objective for a certain time. Its validity ceases when the process has concluded.

Structure of the power of attorney

The power of attorney must contain the following :

• Place and date of issue
• Title of the document, in this case “power of attorney”.
• Name of the represented or grantor, identity card, marital status and profession.
• Name of the representative, identity card, marital status and profession .
• Explain the type of power granted, referring to the decisions or tasks that the grantor delegates to the attorney-in-fact. This part must be explicitly detailed in detail.
• Validity or duration of the letter.
• Signature of the parties and witnesses.

Simple Power of Attorney Example

City, November 22, 2020

Letter of power

I, Juan Carlos Pérez, identity card number XXXXXXXX, hereby authorize citizen XXXXXX, identity card XXXXX, to represent me in all activities related to my banking activity. Read, request account statements, credit cards, debit cards, corresponding to me. Collect all the documentation of an unofficial nature that concerns me and act in all the procedures before the various banking entities where my accounts are registered.

Witnesses to this act are citizen XXXXXXX, bearer of ID XXXXXXX and citizen XXXXX, bearer of ID XXXXX. Both civilly capable and from this address.

This power of attorney will be valid from November 22, 2020 until December 31, 2020. Attached to this are copies of the identity cards of the signatories

Signature of the Grantor Signature of the attorney-in-fact

Witness signature Witness signature