It is the notarial document through which the power of attorney granted by one person to another person to act in his name and on his behalf is rendered null and void. Thus, the attorney-in-fact may no longer perform legal acts or business on behalf of the principal.
This is a merely informative and non-binding estimate. It is calculated on the basis of two criteria: 1) our knowledge of the Notarial Tariff and 2) our daily experience in the preparation of this type of notarial document. (Royal Decree 1426/1989, dated November 17, 1989). and 2) our daily experience in the preparation of this type of notarial document. However, any variation (upward or downward) will be duly justified at the time of issuing the final invoice for the notarial service rendered.
As is known, a power of attorney is a document, which takes the form of a public deed, by virtue of which a person, who is called the grantor, grants powers to another person, who is called the attorney-in-fact, so that the latter, in the name and on behalf of the grantor, may carry out the legal acts or business detailed in the body of the deed.
This can happen once the power of attorney has fulfilled its purpose, for example, once the attorney-in-fact has already carried out the specific legal act or business that was intended, or when such power of attorney, for whatever reason, has lost its raison d'être, which may happen for example in case of loss of trust of the principal in the attorney-in-fact or when the principal is already able to perform these acts or business on his own, so that he no longer needs the assistance of an attorney-in-fact.
Therefore, if any of these situations arise, the principal, in order to prevent the power of attorney from having any further effects in the future, should proceed to cancel the power of attorney, so that, once the power of attorney has been revoked, the principal can no longer perform any further acts in his name and on his behalf. Therefore, the sense and utility of the revocation of the power of attorney is to render the power of attorney useless and invalid, so that it can no longer have any effect in the future.
As indicated above, the granting of a power of attorney is something very delicate for the life and assets of any person, since by means of it, the grantor is conferring the capacity to another person to act on his behalf and representation and to be able to enter into legal acts or business that have important consequences for his person and assets.
Thus, if for whatever reason, the validity of the power of attorney loses its raison d'être, it is appropriate and diligent for the principal, in order to protect his person and assets, to proceed to revoke the power of attorney, as this will ensure that it will no longer be effective in the future so that the attorney-in-fact can no longer act in his name and on his behalf.
Thus, among the many situations that may arise, a power of attorney may be revoked in the following cases:
Indeed, it is possible to revoke almost all powers of attorney granted, whether general or special.
However, as the only exception, which is very rare in practice, powers of attorney granted irrevocably may not be revoked, although it should be borne in mind that such powers of attorney are limited to cases in which the specific purpose of the granting of the power of attorney is the performance of another contract or legal relationship different from the said mandate, in which not only the interests of the principal, but also those of the attorney-in-fact or of third parties are at stake.
<ejemplo>Así pues, por ejemplo, se podría incluir una cláusula de irrevocabilidad en un poder que confiere un deudor a favor de un acreedor para que éste venda un bien propiedad del deudor y, con el producto de la venta, salde la deuda existente entre ambos.<ejemplo>
Indeed, beyond the exception explained above in the case of irrevocable powers of attorney, almost all powers of attorney, whether general or special, can be revoked at any time, so that, for example, if the principal, on the same day he/she grants the power of attorney, decides that he/she no longer wants to keep it, he/she can go again to a Notary Public and proceed to its revocation.
Indeed, it is possible to partially revoke a power of attorney deed, so that, for example, if the principal conferred broad powers to the attorney-in-fact, but subsequently wishes to limit them, a partial revocation deed can be granted for the purpose of limiting and restricting the attorney-in-fact's capacity to act.
Of course not, since the revocation of the power of attorney is a discretionary act of the principal, which may be carried out at any time, without it being necessary to prove or justify a specific cause for doing so.
In order to proceed with the revocation of the power of attorney, if it was granted by means of a public deed, it will be necessary to go again to a Notary Public in order to grant a power of attorney revocation deed, that is to say, a formal act that allows the revocation of the power of attorney in the future.
Indeed, it is possible to execute the deed of revocation of the power of attorney in any Notary Public in Spain, without it being obligatory to execute it in the same notary's office that originally authorized the power of attorney being revoked.
In such case, if the revocation is granted in a different notary's office, the Notary who authorizes the document shall, ex officio, inform the Notary who is the holder of the protocol in which said power of attorney is recorded, so that he/she may record it in the matrix.
The power of attorney revocation deed can only be granted by the principal who granted the power of attorney to be revoked.
Logically, the principal must inform the attorney-in-fact of the revocation of the power of attorney, so that the latter does not make any further use of it. This, besides being logical, is very important from a legal point of view, since the law determines that until the attorney-in-fact is notified of the revocation, he/she may continue to use the power of attorney, with all the consequences that this may have for the principal.
Having said this, and for greater security, it is reasonable that, when communicating the revocation, the principal should request the attorney-in-fact to return the certified copy of the power of attorney, in order to ensure that the attorney-in-fact does not use it fraudulently in the future.
In any case, if there is a conflicting relationship between both parties, if the principal is interested in leaving a reliable record that the attorney-in-fact is aware of the revocation of the power of attorney, it is possible to instruct the Notary Public who authorizes the deed of revocation to inform the attorney-in-fact in a reliable manner and formally request the return of the document.
With this, the principal will be able to prove that the attorney-in-fact is aware of the revocation and thus have a safeguard to invalidate subsequent acts or business that the attorney-in-fact may carry out with the revoked power of attorney.
Once the deed of revocation has been signed, the notary's office will proceed, in the same act, to deliver an authentic copy of the deed of revocation of the power of attorney to the principal, so that the latter may make the corresponding use of the same.
Of course, the notary can go to your home to sign the revocation, since the law obliges to guarantee the notary public service to all those handicapped, sick or with reduced mobility who cannot go to the notary's office by themselves.
However, it will be necessary to take into account that, in such a case, as a matter of territorial competence of the Notary requested, it must be a Notary of the locality in question in which the domicile of the person who is unable to travel is located.
Unfortunately, at present, the current legislation does not provide for the registration of powers of attorney granted by individuals in any public registry, which would undoubtedly be positive, since it would provide operators with greater legal certainty, since any interested party contracting with the attorney-in-fact could check whether the power of attorney is still in force or, on the contrary, has been revoked.
Therefore, logically, its revocation is not recorded in any public registry.
Additionally, it is necessary to indicate that, in the past, an attempt was made to create a registry of revocation of powers of attorney in which all revocations of powers of attorney would be registered, in order to be able to verify their validity. However, such registry, provided for in a regulatory norm, was considered illegal by the Supreme Court and the same was left without effect, so that, as indicated, at present there is no registry in which the granting or revocation of powers of attorney is registered.
Beyond the figure of revocation that has been explained in these questions, the law determines that the power of attorney will also end in case of resignation of the attorney-in-fact (figure that is explained in detail in another section of this web page) or in case of incapacity of the attorney-in-fact.
Likewise, it will also be without effect in the event that the principal or the attorney-in-fact dies or, if applicable, either of them is declared prodigal (case in which a person squanders his assets in superfluous goods, as for example in case of gambling addictions, as a result of which a curator is appointed to watch over his assets and to authorize, if applicable, which specific acts or businesses he may enter into) or enters into a situation of bankruptcy or insolvency.
Although it is an unusual case, the law allows the tacit revocation of a power of attorney in cases in which it has been granted to carry out a specific legal business.
<ejemplo>“Así pues, por ejemplo, si el Sr. Juan ha otorgado un poder especial a favor de la Sra. Carlota para que ésta, en su nombre y representación, pueda vender un cuadro concreto que le pertenece, si a posteriori el Sr. Juan concede otro poder para vender ese mismo cuadro a favor del Sr. Joaquín, se entiende que tácitamente el poder especial anterior a favor de la Sra. Carlota ha quedado revocado”.<ejemplo>
In any case, such tacit revocation shall not take effect until it is brought to the attention of the original attorney-in-fact.
As a general rule, it is sufficient to notify the revocation of the power of attorney to the attorney-in-fact, although there is a case in which the law requires the revocation to be notified to other persons, which happens in particular when the power of attorney has been granted to contract with certain persons.
<ejemplo>“Así pues, por ejemplo, si el poder fue conferido por la Sra. Alba a favor de la Sra. Paula, para que, en su nombre y representación, pueda vender productos que ella fabrica a la empresa “Quesos Manchegos S.L.”, si la Sra. Alba desea revocar el poder, además de notificarlo a la Sra. Paula, deberá comunicarlo también a “Quesos Manchegos, S.L.” para que éstos tengan constancia de que la Sra. Paula ya no está facultada para actuar en su nombre y representación”.<ejemplo>
Once the power of attorney has been revoked and the attorney-in-fact has been notified, if the latter also makes use of the power of attorney, contracting in the name and on behalf of the former principal, such acts shall be null and void and shall not be detrimental to the principal, but shall only bind the attorney-in-fact himself.
All this without prejudice to the fact that, a posteriori, for whatever reason, the former principal may be interested in these business deals or contracts and may proceed to ratify them, as detailed in another section of this web page.
STATE REGULATION
AUTONOMIC REGULATIONS
Necessary documentation for nationals:
Necessary documentation for foreigners:
Necessary documentation:
In the case of a foreign company, it will also be necessary to provide:
