Are you living in Canada, but do you have business or property in Spain or another Spanish-speaking country? If so, you may need a special power of attorney to appoint someone (your attorney) to act on your behalf. This blog post explains the steps to take to ensure that a special power of attorney that is notarized in Canada will be accepted in Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries like Mexico, Argentina or Colombia.
What is a Special Power of Attorney?
A special power of attorney lets a person appoint someone (an attorney) to act on their behalf in specific, clearly laid-out circumstances. Special powers of attorney are also called limited powers of attorney. For example, if you own an apartment in Ecuador but you live in Canada, you may want to sign a special power of attorney that enables a trusted person to manage the property and related finances when you are not in Ecuador.
Preparing Special Powers of Attorney in Spanish
In many Spanish-speaking countries, Special Powers of Attorney are prepared completely in Spanish or in a bilingual format, with the Spanish and English versions set out in one document side by side.
Generally, special powers of attorney must be notarized, which means you must sign the special power of attorney in the presence of a notary and the notary signs and seals it. This means that if you are current
Many countries require special powers of attorney to be signed and notarized in Canada, and then authenticated and legalized. Authentication and legalization are the processes required to make documents notarized in Canada valid for use outside of Canada. This is the equivalent to apostille, which is not performed in Canada.
Authentication is done by Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa, or Official Document Services in Toronto. They verify the notary's stamp and signature and issue a certificate of authenticity.
Legalization is done by the embassy or consulate of the country in which the special power of attorney will be used. The consulate or embassy verifies the certificate of authenticity of Global Affairs Canada or Official Document Services.
Some consulates and embassies will only accept authentications from Global Affairs Canada, and some will accept authentications from both Global Affairs Canada or Official Document Services. For example, Spain will accept authentications only from Global Affairs Canada.
Verifying the Translation of Powers of Attorney in Spanish
If you are submitting a bilingual Power of Attorney to Global Affairs Canada, one of the following must be completed:
The notary public that notarizes the document is fluent in both languages and writes a statement on the document besides their signature, that they are fluent in both languages (Spanish and English) and that both languages on the document mean the same thing,
OR
The Spanish/English Power of Attorney is accompanied by a Translation Verification, made by a Certified Canadian Translator in which the translator verifies that both languages on the document are equivalent. The Translator will need to have the translation verification notarized separately at another Notary Public or Lawyer.
How Can Downtown Notary Help?
If you have a bilingual Spanish power of attorney, Downtown Notary can help!
Downtown Notary is pleased to have two Spanish-speaking notaries public as part of the Downtown Notary roster. Both Mario Delgado, who works at various Downtown Notary Toronto locations, and Suzanne Deliscar, who receives clients at both the Downtown Notary Guelph and Downtown Notary Brampton offices, are available to both verify the correctness of the translation in a bilingual Spanish power of attorney, as well as notarize bilingual Spanish powers of attorney for authentication at Global Affairs Canada and legalization at embassies and consulates.
We offer a one-stop shop for clients with personal matters and business in Spanish-speaking countries by providing verification of the translation of pre-prepared bilingual Spanish powers of attorney, official documents translations, certified translations, notarized translations, notarizations, authentication, legalization and drafting of documents required by embassies and consulates, such as affidavits. We can assist with translating and notarizing documents for use in all Spanish-speaking countries.
To book an appointment to have your bilingual Spanish power of Attorney notarized, visit our online scheduler.
This blog post was prepared by Suzanne E. Deliscar, Lawyer-Linguist, Downtown Notary Guelph and Brampton. You can find out more about Suzanne and her services on the Intersecting Law and Languages Blog.