313. Sending Power of Attorney

to India from USA

Q: Dear sir, I am presently living in the USA. My parents have passed away and my brothers want to sell the house that my parents owned. We are two brothers and five sisters. My brothers are insisting, that all of us appear in the court ,in person, to give them the power of attorney to sell the house and to relinquish our share. I am not in a position to travel to India, is there a way I can send them a notarized document to that effect from the USA? Please, suggest if there is any other way of providing the necessary paperwork on my part to fufill the legal requirement so that they can dispose off the property. I will appreciate your guidance. Thanks a lot. Meera A. You could send them a power of attorney. A power of attorney (POA) document that is sent from abroad to India, it is necessary for the POA document to be attested by the Indian consular official in the area you reside in. Unless this is done, POA in India may not be accepted. Either get a lawyer to prepare a POA or you can do this yourself. Take two copies of the POA and you can sign in front of consular officer who will then stamp and verify it. The fee is $20. Write down what you are sending the power of attorney for. Don't simply say 'to act on my behalf' but clarify what you are allowing the person to do on your behalf. For instance if you want the property sold and your share given to you, then you must state clearly your intentions and how the person to whom you are giving power of attorney must act. There should also be a time limit as to when the power of attorney will expire if not revoked by you earlier. I have a few pointers on power of attorney documents on this website you can visit the page by clicking HERE.