🌍 Embrace Borderless Opportunities with Lexidy’s New Global Mobility Department. Learn More!
 
 

Power of Attorney for Real Estate Investments in Portugal

Get a lawyer to represent you when buying Portuguese property

Our real estate lawyers will guide you through the process step-by-step.

How can a lawyer help me?

Our real estate lawyers are here to give the client peace of mind and security when signing important documents, like deeds. The real estate team at Lexidy are legal experts and have vast experience across the most complicated of contracts and assets.

Power of Attorney removes the stress, cost and delay of international travel by assigning specific duties to someone who has your best interests first.

šWe will be with you each step of the journey.š

 

What is Power of Attorney?

An individual can use the Power of Attorney to empower another person to act on their behalf. This is a binding legal agreement and can be used to allow a lawyer to complete a transaction, like a real estate investment or signing an official document in Portugal.

Using Power of Attorney for Real Estate Transactions

The benefit of Power of Attorney is that it can greatly accelerate the process of buying or selling property in Portugal by simplifying many of the steps and requirements. 

Transferring the legal title of a property to another party is called Conveyancing. While this is a common term in real estate, its execution in Portugal is very different in Portugal compared with many English-language countries.

A lawyer is not the guardian of the funds in Portugal but is actually an intermediary and the guarantor of the client’s rights. Some investors aren’t able to be physically present in Portugal to complete the paperwork or processes for buying property. Instead, they can use Power of Attorney, which allows a lawyer to act in place of the client, but under their direction.

 

A real estate lawyer can be given Power of Attorney to speed up the process of buying a property. They can act on the client’s behalf to accept, modify, sign and execute a host of processes and bureaucratic requirements while eliminating the need for a person to do these in person. Some of the trickier tasks, like handling mortgages and paying debts, can also be executed by Power of Attorney. 

Power of Attorney makes conveyancing in Portugal simple, faster and cheaper than the alternative, which is traveling to the country and doing it in person. A lawyer will always proceed with the client’s best interests at heart. The powers granted are unique and therefore can be as broad or narrow as the client feels comfortable with.

What's the Process for Power of Attorney?

  1. Collect the necessary documentation, like passports and proof of residence, as well as information about the real estate asset. This can take up to ten days.
  2. Carefully specify the terms of the Power of Attorney, which typically takes two days.
  3. Sign the Power of Attorney before a Public Notary.
  4. Stamp, or Apostille, the document or legalize it before the relevant authorities in the issuing country.
  5. Send the verified and legalized documentation to Lexidy.

What are the requirements?

  1. Explain what powers are being exercised when the Attorney is signing the final contract;
  2. The Power of Attorney needs to be formalized with a signature and this must be witnessed or validated by a Public Notary.
  3. If you are in a different country from where the contract will be signed, you must legalize the Power of Attorney:
    1. This is a stamp, or an Apostille, if you are from a country that has signed the Hague Convention; or 
    2. if the document is authenticated by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular agent in the respective country. This must include the consular seal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Power of Attorney must be legalized and signed before a notary. It can be legalized before the authorities in the issuing country. Then it can be recognized by a diplomatic mission.

If there is no diplomatic mission, the individual must legalize the document with the Consulate in another country or region.

Power of Attorney typically grants a lawyer the power to sell, purchase, lease, donate, register, execute tax due diligence, and authorize any works. 

Depending on the asset of transaction, other powers may be included as there are no legal boundaries in a real estate transaction.

Yes. A lawyer is usually assigned the Power of Attorney because they understand the law and act in the client’s interests. 

Although there are some legalities, Power of Attorney can be drafted by anyone. The best way to authorize Power of Attorney is to have a qualified lawyer draft the document with the specific details. 

Yes, the Power of Attorney can be cancelled following a similar process to how it was granted.

Power of Attorney does not expire upon death as it is transferred to his successors who will occupy the position as representative. 

The successors can revoke or modify the Power of Attorney as they see fit. 

The Power of Attorney can be valid for several processes if drafted correctly.

Typically the following details are requested: Name; marital status; nationality; residential address; ID document with its validity; and a Portuguese Tax Number if applicable.

OUR WORK

We are a department formed by qualified legal experts who have been trained in the field of real estate law. We work on these requests every day and it’s our passion. For us, Lexidy is a way of life and what excites us the most is to be able to deliver the happiness and satisfaction of a successful process. We want to help you achieve your goals and dreams.

HĂ©ctor Lopez Vazquez

HĂ©ctor Lopez Vazquez

Head of Corporate Department
Madeleine Cadwell

Madeleine Cadwell

Lawyer
Francesca Coluccio

Francesca Coluccio

Legal Advisor
Luisa Rivera

Luisa Rivera

Trainee
Jorge de Ros

Jorge de Ros

Lawyer

IS TO MAKE CLIENTS HAPPY

How Can We help you?

Subscribe to our newsletter

Stay ahead of the changes that matter to you

Looking for more?

Our Smart Search help to focus on important!

icon