How to issue a power of attorney

A power of attorney is a document that authorizes one person to perform certain actions on behalf of another. It may be necessary in buying real estate, managing financial affairs, receiving a salary, or representing interests in court. This article will tell you how to properly issue a power of attorney so that everything goes smoothly and without trouble.

Who can issue a power of attorney?

An individual and a company can issue a power of attorney.

Here are the features of issuing a power of attorney by an individual:

1. A person aged 18 can issue a power of attorney. A child from 14 to 18 can issue a power of attorney only to dispose of his income, for example, a scholarship.

2. The power of attorney of an individual must be notarized. This means that the person who issues the power of attorney should come to the notary with a passport to compose the text and issue the power of attorney to another person. It is unnecessary to come along with the person to whom you plan to issue a power of attorney. It is enough to know his data: first name, last name, patronymic, date of birth, and citizenship. You can take a photocopy of this person’s passport with you.

In some life circumstances, issuing a notarized power of attorney is problematic. For example, when the principal is in a hospital, or a closed institution, instead of notarization, a power of attorney can be certified by the hospital’s or the closed institution’s head physician.

The company’s director certifies the employee’s power of attorney to receive his salary and other payments at the place of work. When a notary does not certify a power of attorney, you do not need to pay the notary fee.

3. When a power of attorney is issued to close relatives, you must bring a document to the notary confirming the close relationship. In this case, the notary fee is reduced.

4. When a pensioner or a disabled person issues a power of attorney, benefits are provided at the notary tariff—it is reduced by 50%. Therefore, it is logical to show the notary the appropriate document: a pension certificate or a certificate of a disabled person.

5. You can contact any notary to draw up and certify a power of attorney. You can also call a notary at home: bring it yourself or call a taxi.

6. Principals—citizens of Belarus who live abroad: From September 2023, a power of attorney must be issued in Belarus. If a power of attorney has already been issued in a foreign institution, it will not be valid for selling real estate or cars.

7. Some powers of attorney must be notarized. This is a power of attorney for the sale of real estate, for driving a car with the right to travel abroad, a power of attorney with the right of transfer, when a representative can transfer his powers of attorney to another person.

Features of issuing a power of attorney to represent the interests of the company

Notarization is not required. The power of attorney is certified by the head of the company.
A power of attorney to represent the company’s interests is issued to an employee who can confirm that he is an employee and not an outsider to the company or a person who does not work for the company. But you need to make sure what documents are required for the place where the person will represent the company’s interests by proxy. For example, confirming that its employee or lawyer represents the company’s interests in court is necessary.
The company director represents interests without a power of attorney; the director does not need one. Directors of branches and representative offices of the company need a power of attorney.

What are the powers of attorney?

Powers of attorney are conditionally divided into several types:

To perform all actions on behalf of the representative. Such actions are not listed in the power of attorney since the attorney (the person to whom the power of attorney was issued) has the same powers as the principal. This is a general power of attorney, which is issued, for example, to branch directors.
To perform specific actions on behalf of the represented person for a certain period. Such actions are listed in the power of attorney. An example would be a power of attorney to represent interests in court. This is a special power of attorney.
A power of attorney to perform a specific one-time action. For example, to sign a contract and receive a bank deposit. This is a one-time power of attorney.

What is the validity period of the power of attorney?

The power of attorney is valid for a maximum of 3 years. The validity period is counted from the date of registration of the power of attorney or another date specified in the power of attorney.

A power of attorney always contains the date it was issued; otherwise, it is invalid. When a power of attorney has no expiration date, it is valid for one year from the issue date.

What to specify in the power of attorney

The power of attorney cannot be in electronic form. It can only be on paper.

Coming to the notary with the written text of the power of attorney is unnecessary. It is enough to confirm your personal data and the data of the representative and formulate the powers you plan to transfer to the representative. In this case, the notary will draft the power of attorney himself. This is a paid service – you must pay a notary fee of 30% of the base amount.

The notarized power of attorney indicates the following:

The place of issue of the power of attorney and the date of issue.
The surname, first name, patronymic and residential address of the representative and principal.
The validity period of the power of attorney. It is valid for one year if it is not written in the power of attorney.

This is mandatory information.

Depending on the powers that are transferred to the representative, the powers of attorney indicate:

In a power of attorney for the sale of real estate – the address of this property, the price and other conditions of sale, or prescribe that the representative has the right to determine the price and conditions of purchase himself.
A power of attorney for the disposal of the bank account contains the bank’s name and the account number.
In a power of attorney for receiving periodic payments – months, years for which the representative can receive payments.
An essential part of the power of attorney is the powers transferred to the representative.

In all cases, the power of attorney is signed by the person who issued the power of attorney.

The price of the issue

When the power of attorney is certified by a notary, you need to pay the notary fee. A notary will certify a power of attorney for pension, alimony, and benefits for free. For preparing the draft of such a power of attorney, the notary fee is 0.2 basic value. This is 8 rubles. In other cases, to prepare a draft power of attorney, you must pay half the base amount – 20 rubles.

Notary fees for issuing a power of attorney

When a power of attorney is issued to close relatives, the notary tariff is 1 basic value (40 rubles).
When a power of attorney is issued to other persons, the notary tariff is 2 basic values (80 rubles).
When a pensioner or a disabled person issues a power of attorney, benefits are provided for the notary tariff – it is reduced by 50%.

Power of attorney for actions abroad

A power of attorney issued by a notary in Belarus needs to be legalized so that it is recognized abroad that it was issued by a notary whose signature is in the power of attorney and that the power of attorney is certified by his seal.

There are two ways to legalize a power of attorney: apostille and consular legalization.

An apostille is affixed when a power of attorney is needed to represent interests in the member States of the Apostille Convention. These are 115 countries.

An apostille is a unique stamp that is affixed to a document. The Belarusian Ministry of Justice apostilles the power of attorney issued by Belarusian notaries.

For consular legalization, power of attorney is applied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If there is no consulate or representative office of the State for which a power of attorney was issued in Belarus, confirmation of the signature in another state may be required.

In the same way, foreign powers of attorney are legalized and recognized in Belarus.

Foreign powers of attorney

You should also remember translating a foreign power of attorney into Russian or Belarusian. The translation of the power of attorney is certified by a notary if he speaks the language in which the power of attorney is drawn up. A foreign power of attorney can be translated by an interpreter. A notary attests to the authenticity of his signature.

It makes sense to transfer the power of attorney issued abroad in Belarus.