What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney (POA) is an agreement where an individual or a company authorizes another person or company to act on their behalf. The person who authorizes is called the ‘principal or grantor’ and the person who is being authorized is referred to as ‘the attorney-in-fact or agent or grantee’. POA can be done for several matters such as business, private affairs, financial, real estate, and more.
In the UAE, the age of the grantor of POA must be over 21 years and he/she should be mentally sound. For a foreign business owner, if a power of attorney is required but is authorized in another country, it must also be translated into Arabic and then legalized in the UAE. You can take the help of lawyers in Dubai to deal with such formalities to use a foreign POA in Emirates.
A power of attorney requires the grantor to sign in all capacities and authorize a legal representative in the concerning matters. POA is based on a trust relationship and any wrongdoing will be treated as fraud and will be prosecuted in the court of law. The executor can cancel the POA anytime or once the specified task is completed. Once the grantor is deceased, the document becomes invalid. Also, the signing of an irrevocable POA is not permitted in the UAE.
There are two main categories of POA in Dubai – general and special. You must know the difference between these two to make use of the correct one.
General power of attorney: In general POA, the authorized agent has wide powers. He/she has the legal right to decide and act on general, legal, and business matters concerning the principal. Usually, it can be used to buy real estate, set up businesses, and represent you before government officials. However, this document does not hold good to sell vehicles, real estate, or shares in companies in the UAE.
Though being general, it does not mean that the agent can do everything they want. They are still restricted by what is included in the POA contract.
Special power of attorney: Special POA is more specific. It can be either limited to an explicit transaction or for a limited time. It grants limited powers to the agent about a specific subject matter. You can make a special POA for the sale of vehicles, properties, or shares in companies. Usually, this type of POA is enough to execute the required task and offers less risk to the grantor. If you are doubtful, choose a special POA over a general one to take the safer route.
In either case, it is crucial to mention the details of the tasks to be carried out in POA. The third-party might not accept the POA if the necessary details are not furnished in the document.
Validity of a POA in Dubai
A Power Of Attorney has a fixed time duration. It is valid as long as the specified transaction or activity is carried out but keeping in mind the laws in the UAE. Please note that the POA in Dubai is valid for two years, after which it has to be renewed. In the case of the revocation, you need to send a notification to the office that issued the document initially.
Typically, the validity of the document depends on the reason for which it was issued. For instance, you can use the POA for real estate transactions, like the purchase or sale of a property for a particular time period. The POA expires or is no longer valid once the transaction is completed. It is important to know that the legitimacy of an attorney’s power also depends on the general rules and local laws in this matter.
For real estate matters in Dubai, the POA document is valid for two years for sale and five years for the purchase of properties.
You can renew the power of attorney at the Dubai Public Notary for a specific fee. You can also revoke the POA anytime by notifying the agent in writing. You must obtain the original document and all other copies and submit a written revocation request at the office where the original POA was signed or issued.
Benefits of a Power Of Attorney
Depending on the requirements of an individual, a power of attorney can handle a wide variety of matters. Some key advantages are:
- It is the most practical way to handle specified tasks so that you don’t have to be personally present in Dubai.
- It saves you substantial time, money, and discomfort.
- In matters concerning real estate, where one or both parties are not available, a POA can be used to represent them and finalize the transaction on their behalf.
- It is a very useful legal document, especially for foreign property dealings.
- As a foreigner, if you wish to buy or to sell a property, you can take the help of lawyers in Dubai to act on your behalf with a POA.
- A good agent can also guide you and provide all the necessary updates on the procedures and steps involved.
Risks of issuing Power Of Attorney
Authorizing someone as your legal representative obviously entails an element of risk. It requires a huge amount of trust while appointing someone as your legal agent. You grant that person the right to function for you in a way as you would have done if you were present. He or she can make those decisions that are legally enforceable on you.
It is therefore important to ensure that you are satisfied with the conditions stipulated in the POA document. You must also be confident that the person to whom you grant the power of attorney is competent and trustworthy. He/she must have the required expertise and knowledge to act on your behalf. For your best interests, do not take the whole process lightly. You must do your research before signing a POA.
With all the aforementioned, there are certain rules and regulations in place to safeguard the owner’s interest while appointing a POA in Dubai.
Procedure to sign Power Of Attorney in the UAE
The procedure to issue a POA in the UAE is quite straight forward. However, it is always good to take the help of an attorney to avoid any issues.
There are various law firms and typing centers in Dubai that prepare POA. Typically, the typing centers use standard templates for all the clients. As they have a fixed language, it might not fulfill your specific requirements. It is ideal to get your POA prepared by a law firm.
Initially, the document is verified and validated by the Public Notary in the UAE. Then, the UAE Embassy certifies it in the country of origin of the person seeking a POA. Few points to remember in regards to POA in Dubai are:
- If the grantor is present in Dubai, the POA can be issued in a few hours.
- It takes approximately two weeks or less if the grantor is outside Dubai. This depends on the specific country where the document is to be legalized.
- If the POA is legalized in a foreign country, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies the document.
- A certain amount of fee is imposed for both individuals as well as a corporate POA.
- All the documents must be in the Arabic language.
Procedure to sign power of attorney outside the UAE
If you are not in the UAE, you can always sign the POA before a notary public in your home country, given that you follow the legal process to make the document valid for use in the UAE. The authorization process is started in the home country (where the POA is signed) and is completed in the UAE. This approach gives an assurance that the paper is authentic and includes information that is right and valid.
Below are the steps to be followed:
- First, you must sign the POA before a public notary in your home country. The presence of a public notary as a witness confirms the validity of your signatures.
- Next, the document must be attested by the ministry of foreign affairs of your country of residence. This is done to legalize the document at an international level.
- The document must be submitted to UAE Embassy/Consulate for certification. The UAE Embassy/Consulate certifies the document once the first two steps are completed.
- Once the document is certified, it is presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in the UAE. It verifies the above three steps and certifies the POA document. This step makes the document legally valid for use in the UAE.
For a non-Arabic-speaking person, he/she must get the document prepared in a bilingual format. This will help him/her to understand the document in the English language before getting it translated into Arabic. It is compulsory that a licensed legal translator, approved by the Ministry of Justice in the UAE, translates your POA into Arabic. The document can be signed either in the Arabic language only or in bilingual format (English and Arabic) before a public notary.
It is best to seek a legal opinion from Dubai attorneys to offset the language differences or other confusion.
Online Notarization of Power of Attorney
Owing to the COVID outbreak, access to prepare POA through online portals has been granted for notarization.
The POA can be notarized online by using the MOJ link if the POA’s principal is unable to travel or decides to complete the POA online. You can complete this type of remote notarization by sending an email to the notary public of the Dubai courts’ specified email address. Proceedings through a law firm will be the best option to complete this process without any complications.
Summary
A Power Of Attorney is a vital document that can be used on your behalf to take care of the transactions you are involved in. In Dubai, there are a variety of activities covered by the power of attorney. This includes real estate transactions, business matters, personal matters, etc. A POA can be authorized either for a specific time period or in general. The grantor can also revoke the powers if necessary. You must approach a law firm in the UAE to get overall information about the types of power of attorney.
To sum up, it is crucial for you to analyze the intent of the POA carefully and determine which form of document suits you the best. The document must be drawn up in such a way that it is acceptable to third parties and government agencies. Any drafting error can lead to adverse consequences and loss of time and cost involved in the planning and notarization of the document.