GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING POWERS OF ATTORNEY AND OTHER LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Powers of attorney and other legal documents are issued upon written request of the interested party using the appropriate forms.
The applicant may appear in person at the Consulate or send the request by mail or fax. If the request is mailed, the applicant should complete the form in its entirety, date it, sign it and send it together with a photocopy of identification. Married women, whose identification shows only their husband’s last name, must provide their marriage certificate as well.
In the case of couples who are married under community property law, and who wish to sell property purchased after 1975, which does not derive from an inheritance, the other spouse must be present as well, and he or she must also sign the power of attorney.
Once the request has been sent the applicant may call the officer in charge to enquire about the fee ant to schedule an appointment to sign the document. If the request is made in person an appointment will be given at that time to return to sign the document.
GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY AND GENERAL AD LITEM
With this power of attorney, the individual appointed attorney in fact is vested with unlimited powers for an indefinite amount of time (unless otherwise explicitly specified). The validity of this power of attorney ceases only with a specific written revocation (see form) or with the death of the person that has granted it.
A general power of attorney is not required to carry out procedures related to an inheritance. A power of attorney solely for those purposes (see form) may in fact be issued giving the attorney in fact full power to carry out the requested procedures but not over any other property or interests the principal may have in Italy.
A general power of attorney ad litem empowers your attorney in fact to carry out on your behalf any kind of litigation, already started or to be commenced, before any court within the territory of the Republic of Italy.
SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SPECIAL AD LITEM
With this power of attorney the individual appointed attorney in fact is vested solely with the power needed to carry out a specific act (i.e. the sale or purchase of real estate or a car), therefore it is necessary to indicate exactly in the form the particular power that the principal intends to give to his attorney in fact, by stating it in the field named “oggetto della procura” and specifically:
a) in case of sale or purchase of real estate please indicate the full address and legal data (identification) of the property;
b) in case of sale or purchase of a vehicle please indicate the make and type, license plate, and VIN number;
c) in case of special power of attorney ad litem please indicate all data pertaining to the specific legal action covered.
These powers of attorney may be repealed by the principal at any time by signing a specific written revocation (see form).
For the authentication of signatures, it is sufficient to go to the consular office with valid identification and the document to be signed, which will usually be authenticated and returned the same day.