Specific Power of Attorney: trusting the law firm.

[Andrew53]

Hello

My mother and I are UK residents, and I'm helping her with her property (which is in Cyprus)

I've employed a law firm in Nicosia to create a Specific Power of Attorney which allow them to search the Land Registry for house documentation,
and sell/rent, etc, her house and a plot of land (the powers are quite broad)

Some of the wording alarmed a local UK solicitor, who suggested a number of changes.

The Cypriot lawyer made some of the changes, but not all.

The Cypriot lawyer says they can't alter the SPOA wording any more, as then the Land Registry won't accept it.

My concern is: nowhere in the SPOA does it say that they need my mother's permission, before executing the actions in the document.
For instance in clause 1 re her house: 'to sell at any price, exchange, dispose of'..etc.


When I've asked them about this, and other clauses, their response was:

"This has been clarified in our emails. We are a reputable law firm and we act on PoAs based on the instructions we receive from our clients from time to time, as anything else would be against our code of conduct and ethics. We have never been requested to send an email to state that we shall act based on the prior approval of the client, as this is given."

Which can be summed up as: trust us.

Doing something that went against their code of conduct/ ethics would not be illegal, and would be allowed by the SPOA.This is my concern.

I've looked them up ( as much as I can ) and have found nothing negative about them, quite the opposite: they're listed in LEGAL500 as in the top 30% for customer satisfaction, and have been very professional in their communications thus far.

If I use a different law firm, I suspect I'll have the same problem, if the Nicosia Land Registry only accepts a SPOA as valid, if the clauses are worded in a particular way.

If anyone has any experience with this, or knows of a UK lawyer, who has an understanding of Cypriot law, who I could send the SPOA to, to review, that would be most helpful.

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum.

The whole point of a the PoA is for the appointed PoA to act on behalf of your mother without seeking any further permissions. To confirm the appointment, you mother will need to sign the PoA in the presence of a Certifying Officer who will also verify her identity.

Assuming your mother doesn't want to visit Cyprus, the PoA document can be certified at the Cyprus High Commission in London or one of the Honorary Consulates.

There is a Cypriot law firm in London and I met the principal many years ago in Cyprus - Christofi Law.

It's extremely unlikely that a British solicitor will understand the workings of the Cypriot legal system.

If you could send me the name of the firm you've been dealing with in Cyprus by private message (PM), I may be able to let you know if they're reputable.

Regards,

[Andrew53]

Hello Nigel! Thank you for your response.

My mother can't travel to Cyprus, or London to the Cyprus High Commission, so I have a local Notary, who can witness the signing, then send the SPOA to the foreign office to be Apostilled, and then couriered from there to the Cypriot law firm. All that part of it is pretty straight forward.

Re British/ Cypriot law: it's useful to know that Cypriot law is substantially different to the UK version ( so perhaps my solicitors' concerns are unfounded )

I think you're right in suggesting I contact a lawyer who's knowledgeable about Cypriot law ( to look over the SPOA, and verify that it's legitimate ) and Christofi law was one that I contacted last week.

I shall give them another try.

( I shall message you the name of the law firm, that drafted the SPOA, in private chat )

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Andrew

I've replied to your PM - I've never heard of the firm.

Unless they've changed the rules, you don't need to get the signed and certified PoA apostilled - just courier it to the lawyer in Cyprus.

Regards

[Pantheman]

Hi,

Just to add my 2 cents worth.

1. UK solicitors do not know what is required on a SPOA for the land registry to accept it. The local lower does.

2. The law firm I use always seeks the permission of the giving the power before signing any document or making any payments.

3. The is some wording that sound concerning like 'to sell at any price', this is necessary because if the sale price was to deviate from any price quoted on the SPOA the land registry would not accept it. I suppose you could have added ' to sell at any price equal to or above XXXXX'

4. You might like to ask around before you get fully committed with this law firm unless it's already too late.

5. As for notarising the SPOA, I believe this is still required, it's just that some lawyers here do it on your behalf to make life easier and cheaper, but as you are supposed to be signing in the presence of, then take that as you will.

Where is the house and land located??

[Andrew53]

Hi Andrew

I've replied to your PM - I've never heard of the firm.

Unless they've changed the rules, you don't need to get the signed and certified PoA apostilled - just courier it to the lawyer in Cyprus.

Regards

Cheers!

[Andrew53]

Hi,

Just to add my 2 cents worth.

1. UK solicitors do not know what is required on a SPOA for the land registry to accept it. The local lower does.

2. The law firm I use always seeks the permission of the giving the power before signing any document or making any payments.

3. The is some wording that sound concerning like 'to sell at any price', this is necessary because if the sale price was to deviate from any price quoted on the SPOA the land registry would not accept it. I suppose you could have added ' to sell at any price equal to or above XXXXX'

4. You might like to ask around before you get fully committed with this law firm unless it's already too late.

5. As for notarising the SPOA, I believe this is still required, it's just that some lawyers here do it on your behalf to make life easier and cheaper, but as you are supposed to be signing in the presence of, then take that as you will.

Where is the house and land located??

Hello Pantheman: your 2 cents are much appreciated.

The house, and plot of land, are both in Dali, Nicosia, and my Cypriot Estate Agent recommended the law firm I'm using, to me.

Re this:

'2. The law firm I use always seeks the permission of the giving the power before signing any document or making any payments.'

Was the seeking permission part, in writing, as either a clause of the PoA, or in an email to you, or is it a given, and therefore not in writing at all?

If it's not in writing, is it the case that you trust them to notify you before they execute actions in the PoA, but, legally and contractually, they are not obliged to do so?

A clause in my SPoA that bothered me, is this:

'I state and declare that my said agent has full power and authority to make use

and/or to put into effect all or any of the powers vested on him as provided

herein above, in respect with and/or for the benefit of any person or persons including himself, and/ or any of his and/or my own relatives.'

Now, under no circumstances, would I want the lawyers named, to use the powers granted to them, to benefit themselves, or their relatives.

They removed the, themselves and their relatives part, at my request, but the remaining 'person/persons' part remained.

I asked:

'Does this still mean that that the agents named have authority to make decisions that will benefit ANY person/s? (not just my mother?)'

Their response:

'- Yes, a sale of your mother’s property for which we will act on your instructions, is also beneficial for the purchaser.'

So that's the meaning of the clause according to them.

To me it seems like ' for the benefit of any person' could still be for anyone's benefit, and not just the attestor ( my mother ), or a person who purchases the house.

Do you have a similar clause in your PoA?

[Pantheman]

Hello Pantheman: your 2 cents are much appreciated.

The house, and plot of land, are both in Dali, Nicosia, and my Cypriot Estate Agent recommended the law firm I'm using, to me.

Re this:

'2. The law firm I use always seeks the permission of the giving the power before signing any document or making any payments.'

Was the seeking permission part, in writing, as either a clause of the PoA, or in an email to you, or is it a given, and therefore not in writing at all?

It was a given, no clause, nothing in writing, just good practice

If it's not in writing, is it the case that you trust them to notify you before they execute actions in the PoA, but, legally and contractually, they are not obliged to do so?

Yes in both cases

A clause in my SPoA that bothered me, is this:

'I state and declare that my said agent has full power and authority to make use

and/or to put into effect all or any of the powers vested on him as provided

herein above, in respect with and/or for the benefit of any person or persons including himself, and/ or any of his and/or my own relatives.'

Never seen or heard of such a clause and I too would be suspicious of this. What does hi family have to do with any of this?

Now, under no circumstances, would I want the lawyers named, to use the powers granted to them, to benefit themselves, or their relatives.

They removed the, themselves and their relatives part, at my request, but the remaining 'person/persons' part remained.

I asked:

'Does this still mean that that the agents named have authority to make decisions that will benefit ANY person/s? (not just my mother?)'

Their response:

'- Yes, a sale of your mother’s property for which we will act on your instructions, is also beneficial for the purchaser.'

So that's the meaning of the clause according to them.

I doubt it, the SPOA is for you, what does the buyer have to do with it?? I don't like what I am reading here.

To me it seems like ' for the benefit of any person' could still be for anyone's benefit, and not just the attestor ( my mother ), or a person who purchases the house.

Do you have a similar clause in your PoA?

No, nothing like this, I will ask my lawyer for a sample SPOA and let you know.

Personally, I wouldn't sign anything until you have further clarification.

Good luck

[Andrew53]

Hello Pantheman: your 2 cents are much appreciated.

The house, and plot of land, are both in Dali, Nicosia, and my Cypriot Estate Agent recommended the law firm I'm using, to me.

Re this:

'2. The law firm I use always seeks the permission of the giving the power before signing any document or making any payments.'

Was the seeking permission part, in writing, as either a clause of the PoA, or in an email to you, or is it a given, and therefore not in writing at all?

It was a given, no clause, nothing in writing, just good practice

Good to know

If it's not in writing, is it the case that you trust them to notify you before they execute actions in the PoA, but, legally and contractually, they are not obliged to do so?

Yes in both cases

A clause in my SPoA that bothered me, is this:

'I state and declare that my said agent has full power and authority to make use

and/or to put into effect all or any of the powers vested on him as provided

herein above, in respect with and/or for the benefit of any person or persons including himself, and/ or any of his and/or my own relatives.'

Never seen or heard of such a clause and I too would be suspicious of this. What does hi family have to do with any of this?

Yes, it's a strange one, however, I looked at the Cypriot Land Registry template for a General PoA, and that clause is in there. I imagine it's there for if a family member was named as the attorney ( which is not the case with my circumstance ). My law firm use a standard template that they use for all their PoA's, so this clause is probably an artifact of that, rather than something they made up. Why they won't just remove it, in my case, is harder to understand.


Now, under no circumstances, would I want the lawyers named, to use the powers granted to them, to benefit themselves, or their relatives.

They removed the, themselves and their relatives part, at my request, but the remaining 'person/persons' part remained.

I asked:

'Does this still mean that that the agents named have authority to make decisions that will benefit ANY person/s? (not just my mother?)'

Their response:

'- Yes, a sale of your mother’s property for which we will act on your instructions, is also beneficial for the purchaser.'

So that's the meaning of the clause according to them.

I doubt it, the SPOA is for you, what does the buyer have to do with it?? I don't like what I am reading here.

''What does the buyer have to do with it?' Agreed, that's what I thought.

To me it seems like ' for the benefit of any person' could still be for anyone's benefit, and not just the attestor ( my mother ), or a person who purchases the house.

Do you have a similar clause in your PoA?

No, nothing like this, I will ask my lawyer for a sample SPOA and let you know.

Personally, I wouldn't sign anything until you have further clarification.

You're quite right: I've employed another Cypriot lawyer who specialises in real estate, to look the SPoA over. It's worth the extra cost, for peace of mind.

Good luck

Cheers!