If you are emigrating and leaving some property behind in South Africa, or even if you are only leaving for a lengthy sojourn in your ancestral homeland abroad, you should consider signing a suitable power of attorney before you leave our shores.
We often deal with ex-pat clients who are selling or otherwise dealing with their immovable property or other official affairs in South Africa from abroad. At the time of their emigration, they were either too admin-fatigued to consider the practical side of future dealings with their assets left behind, or they simply do not know how difficult it can be to deal with property in South Africa from abroad.
Are you aware that you may sell (or let) your property from the comfort of your new home in Wellington or Toronto? Signing the sale agreement is the easy part but when it comes to signing the transfer documents, the law has very specific requirements as to how such signing is to be done. If you sign any documents intended for use in South Africa, especially official use, your signature thereon needs to be authenticated by a higher authority. The same goes for the authentication of copies of your documents intended for use in South Africa.
Depending on the country you are in, you may have to travel to the South African consulate, or pay a notary public to authenticate your documents. Often we hear the complaints of embassies or consulates being too far, or inaccessible due to restricted hours or schedules. Likewise, we hear complaints about expensive notaries. Often the person authenticating does not comply with South African law, and the process has to repeat itself, at the client’s cost.
This frustration can be prevented by granting a power of attorney to a trusted person in South Africa, authorising the said person to sign documents, or doing any other specific or general thing on your behalf. This document will enable your trusted agent (friend or family member) to sign or re-sign or amend documents on your behalf so there is no need for you to deal with notaries, consulates, emails to and fro, or admin. The idea is not to limit your authority over your affairs, instead, it is to enable you to extend your reach in dealing with your affairs.
Contact us to assist you with the drafting of a power of attorney especially suited for your needs. It may save you a lot of time and headache at a later stage.
