Why you need a Lasting Power of Attorney in Spain
Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), well known and extensively used in common law jurisdictions, are legal documents which allow a person who is at least 21 years of age (‘donor’), to voluntarily appoint one or more persons (‘donee’) to make decisions and act on his behalf as his proxy decision maker if he should lose mental capacity one day.
In Spain, very few know that there are two almost identical legal documents that grant the same powers to a trusted person should the time of incapacitation arrive.
These documents are known as the “Poder Preventivo”, or Preventive Power of Attorney (PPA), and the “Autotutela”, or “Appointment of Tutor”, both of which are granted before a Notary Public.
The Preventive Power of Attorney is one where a person can deal with the financial affairs of the grantor, with immediate effect after a certain date or once a medical doctor declares a person incapacitated. For its part, the Appointment of Tutor deals with health and care decisions, daily routine or where the affected person should live (but will require judicial approval where the sale of assets is concerned).
It is recommendable to grant at the same time both the Preventive Power of Attorney and the Appointment of Tutor to avoid the lengthy (and costlier) process of applying for a judicial decision -appointment of tutor- following a clinically diagnosed incapacitation or intellectual disability because of disease or accident, a process that furthermore will require a separate procedure to sell real estate or other assets.
It is worth noting that both appointments can be revoked by the grantor whilst capable, and that Notary Publics in Spain have an obligation to communicate any such documents to the Spanish Civil Registry.
Hello. I am trying to find out if the following name is a genuine lawyer with a practice in Spain : Mrs. Tania Lorena Capozzoli There is a fraudulent ‘company’ called Delta Litigation who purport to be able to get compensation through the Spanish Courts for money lost through property dealings [ via instant Access Properties ]. However, they are using this person’s name to give their operation some credibility, and the two obvious questions are : 1] There is no such lawyer in Spain or 2] There is such a bona fida lawyer, but she has no idea her name is being used for fraudulent purposes. Would you be able to look her up on the Spanish lawyer register please. I had a look myself, but not speaking Spanish it seems easier to ask you if that is ok. Thank you.
Dear Steve,
There is a lawyer called Tania Lorena Capozzoli, registered with number 8593 with the Malaga Law Society. On her own admission, she is acting for Delta Litigation, on an independent capacity.
There is currently an investigation into this company, in the UK. The following following Crime Reference Number has been given out on internet, as well as the Detective working on the case:
45150016364
Detective Constable Garside. Vicky.Garside@Surrey.pnn.police.uk