My deed gives very wide powers. Can you word it more narrowly?
+
No. And walk away from anyone who offers to. A copy that gives less than your paper does is useless. One that gives more is dangerous. We write what is there, in the same order, and let the office reading it decide what it means.
Mine was notarised back home. Does the UK accept that?
+
Usually yes, once it is in English. A UK bank or solicitor is not checking your notary back home. They are checking that they can read what you gave away and what you held back. If the paper is going out of the country again, it may need a seal here too, and we will say so.
Does the notary page at the back need doing as well?
+
Nearly always, yes. That sheet holds the date, the stamp and often the limits on your attorney. It is the page a bank reads hardest. It is only a few lines, so it costs very little. Leaving it out costs far more in lost days.
My deed names two attorneys. Does that wording carry across?
+
Word for word. Whether the two must act together, or either one can act alone, is often the most important line on the page. It changes what your bank will let them do. We keep the wording as it is and add a short note only if a reader here would not know the term.
There is an end date and a cancelling clause on mine.
+
Both go in, in full. People think only the powers matter. In fact the lines that stop your attorney are the ones that protect you. If a reader cannot see an end date, they have to assume there is none. That is not a risk worth taking.
Is my deed the same as a lasting power of attorney here?
+
Not quite, and the difference is worth knowing. A lasting power of attorney, or LPA, is a British form. It has to be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before anyone can use it. There are two kinds, one for money and property, one for health and care. A paper made abroad is its own thing and is not registered that way. We translate yours as it stands, and never dress it up to look like the British form.
Mine is an old enduring power of attorney. Is it still worth doing?
+
Yes. Enduring powers of attorney, or EPAs, stopped being made on 1 October 2007 when LPAs came in. But any signed before that day still count. We see them often, decades old and soft at the folds. The same goes for an ordinary or general power of attorney, which only works while you can still make your own decisions. Whichever one you hold, we keep its own name on the page.
Half my deed is already in English. Do I pay for all of it?
+
Only for the part that needs doing. Papers from Morocco, Cyprus and a few other places are printed in two languages, with just the details filled in by hand. We charge for the work, not for the sheet, so these come in well under a full page.
My attorney has to act next week. How fast can you be?
+
Usually within a day for a short paper, and often the same afternoon. House sales, notary slots and bank meetings all have dates somebody else picked. Tell us yours before you pay and you will get a plain answer, not a hopeful one.
