Q684. Power of Attorney for

property sale in India

Question: Hi!, We are selling our property in India and to complete the initial formalities need to send a POA favoring my father in India. While I have found out the procedure of getting it validated by the Indian Consulate, I was wondering if there is any special legal document like a stamp paper to make the POA on? Also does a lawyer need to prepare it for us? Thank you for your time. Regards Geetanjali Answer: Generally a lawyer is not required and terms of a power of attorney can be written on a plain white paper. Lawyers, however are often used to get advise on drafting the wording of a POA document. It is never a good idea to give someone blanket authority to do just about everything on your behalf! My suggestion to you would be to have your father contact a lawyer or accountant in India who can help in the sale of the property. They can advise your father what wording is required and in what format. You can then prepare the POA document and send it to your father in India. Please Note: There are times when people send general power of attorney to relatives in India that allow them to do just about everything on their behalf. However, this can sometimes create a situation where elderly parents holding power of attorney may be taken advantage of by unscrupulous parties, especially where property transactions are involved. Specifying in the POA document things like, the price at which the property can be sold and what has to be done with the sale proceeds etc. on completion of the sale may help and protect the person who gives the power of attorney and perhaps the holder of the POA.