Trouble33

Hi all,

I'm hoping I can get some of your advice.

My Dad currently owns an apartment in Lanzarote, has a car out there and a bank account (which will run out of funds in the next month).

Unfortunately my Dad had a major stroke 11 weeks ago and he's now expected to live in a nursing home for the rest of his days; currently still in hospital.

Today we've finally had the ok from the Stroke Consultant that we can get Dad to sign a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for his finances; he's deemed mentally capable.

Dad has a home in the UK and the apartment in Lanzarote, so will have to self fund his nursing home... of course this means we need to sell his Lanzarote apartment, car and close down his bank account.

I've looked online this evening and it looks like the UK LPA won't be of any use in Lanzarote. Is that right? If so, what do we do to get power of attorney over there, bearing in mind Dad is in hospital?

This whole thing is hideous, but the thought of having to deal with Spanish bureaucracy fills me with dread. i remember all the hassles Dad's had over the years with bank accounts, direct debits and bills not being paid etc.

Any help/info would be really appreciated.
Anita.

missile

You need a reliable Spanish solicitor (abogado)

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Rosemary

I am so sorry to hear that your father is ill and the difficulties that this will cause. I agree with Missile that you need to gain the services of an abogado.

Rosemary

MikeJ

When you have identified your solicitor - preferably one who speaks good English and can deal with the whole process of selling the house and car, pay off any taxes etc. Get them to provide you with the Spanish POA form (it needs to have the Spanish and English translation in parallel columns).

Then you need a Notary Public in the UK (many solicitors are also NP but you can find a list on the Law Society web pages). He then needs to notarise your father's signature (which may require him to visit your father). I think you will also need to have it Epistole at the Foreign office, not sure but NP will know. Send that back to your Spanish lawyer so that he can register it with the Spanish Notary.
Once it is correctly registered you might want to grant restricted POA to your Spanish lawyer so that he can deal with all the administrative tasks without constantly referring back to you.

It sounds horrendously complicated but it's really quite simple. There may be another way and someone may come up with it, but it worked for me

missile

A good solicitor will advise and do all that is necessary.

It is not rocket science, like most things it is easy when you know how. I can only imagine what a Spaniard makes of English bureaucracy, leasehold, and conveyancing?

KieronF

Here is a guide to getting a Power of attorney legalised for use in Spain -


Having just completed the process of conferring Power of Attorney on my Spanish solicitor I thought it might be useful to outline the process for those who may be interested -

1) Secure the services of a recommended solicitor in the local area in Spain and have them draft a general power of attorney document. This should be formatted in A4, two columns to the page. The Spanish language text should appear in one column, the English translation in the other.

2) Unless your Spanish is good enough (or you can trust the solicitor implicitly) have the Spanish translation checked to ensure it matches the English version.

3) Find a Public Notary in your area by visiting the Notaries Society website - https://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk/. Make an appointment to visit in person and have one copy of the document for each person concerned ie if husband and wife are buying a property in joint names, they must each have a power of attorney in their name. You must also bring your passport(s) with you, NOT copies.

4) In the presence of the Notary you will sign the PoA, they will then notarise the document with their official embossed stamp and their signature then they will bind the document together. The PoA will have a notarised copy of your passport attached to the bound document.

5) Visit the Foreign & Commonwealth Legalisation Services website at -
https://www.get-document-legalised.s...select-service and follow the prompts. You will be asked questions regarding the document and answer prompts to ensure it has been notarised etc. The legalisation service costs £30 per document and you can make payment online during the process. Once payment has been taken you are prompted to print a cover sheet that consists of a barcode and postal address for the FCO.

6) Post your PoA(s) to the FCO by registered post and once they have been received and checked the FCO will certify them as being officially notarised in the UK by attaching their own seal to the documents known as a Hague Apostille. This process usually takes about 4 days and once complete the FCO will either return the documents to you at the address you specified during the registration process OR they will courier the PoA direct to your solicitor in Spain if you specified this option during the registration process. The courier fees are taken at the time of registration payment and cost £13 for Europe.

7) The PoA should arrive with your solicitor within 7 days and you will receive an email with DHL tracking information from the FCO to that effect.

MikeJ

I thought that's what I said - with perhaps a little more brevity - #5

Trouble33

Thanks for the advice.

Can a UK solicitor deal with all of this, as none of us can get out to Lanzarote any time soon... and no-one speaks even a little Spanish either?

missile

That would depend on whether you can find a local solicitor conversant with Spanish Law / has reciprocal arrangements with one in Lanzarote? I only know of one, where do you live?

Do you know which Abogado arranged the purchase of your father's house?

KieronF

Here is a list of Foreign & Commonwealth Office approved solicitors in Lanzarote -
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...e_2016__1_.pdf


One of them should be able to offer you relevant advice.

Trouble33

I'm in Reading, one sister near Salisbury and another in Bexhill on Sea. Dad's in Weymouth (well Dorchester Hospital right now).

No idea about anything to do with Dad's apartment and his memory has been affected by the stroke, so doubt he'd be able to tell me much either.

missile

Hm ......... you have nothing, no paperwork e.g. escritura? Perhaps if you speak with your own solicitor? He may be able to advise how best to proceed?

PS: You say his account will run out of funds soon. I would suggest you consider funding this for utility bills. If these are disconnected, it can be expensive to reconnect.

Good luck