Power of Attorney is one of those frightening legal terms, which seems to instill fear into most people who worry that by giving a third party power of attorney they will be throwing away their legal rights and leave themselves wide open to abuse. However, if you are buying a property in Turkey and will not be present to see the sale through, you can appoint someone to act on your behalf in your absence using Power of Attorney.
Choosing Someone to Act on Your Behalf
You can choose anyone to act on your behalf using a POA but you should choose someone who you trust and know and you should check them out. One of the best choices is to use your lawyer, but in these cases you should check that they are a member of the local Turkish Lawyers' Barr Association. If you decide to use another professional you can ask for a professional letter of recommendation. You can choose several agents if you wish but you need to decide exactly what powers each will have and whether they will act separately or jointly. If they act separately you may find that you get more done as there will usually always be someone free to act on your behalf. It is imperative that you make sure you have someone you trust and that your POA is drafted very clearly in terms of the powers that appointee has over your affairs and the duration of time they have this. Without this clarity a POA can be open to misuse and misinterpretation. By law whoever you appoint as your agent is obliged to act in your interests without any "self-dealing".
Drafting a Power of Attorney
Your lawyer can draft up the power of attorney document for you. He will need to sign it with you and your appointed trustee in the presence of a notary. You should ensure though that the document detailing your POA is written specifying clearly exactly what they can do and with time restraints, which bring the POA to a close once they have carried out your wishes. You can give Power of Attorney during the property buying process to buy, sell or rent a property, manage your property, pay your bills and even to collect money from your bank to pay for any transactions relating to the purchase or sale of the property, invest or make use of your money on behalf you, make legal claims and conduct litigation or pay your taxes. Your POA should clearly state any limitations. If you are allowing your agent to access your bank account then make sure you have an account set up with enough funds in to carry out your wishes. Do not give them access to the account with your life savings in. Your appointed agent should provide you with precise financial records of their activities, and be able to account for all money and property belonging to or earned on your behalf and your POA should state this requirement. You don't have to have your POA prepared in Turkey; it can be prepare in your home country but will need to be apostilled to make it legal in Turkey.
Power of Attorney Pitfalls
In some instances there have been incidents where a Power of Attorney has been used by an untrustworthy agent to transfer your assets to himself and for this reason it is imperative that you know and trust who you are dealing with, place a time limit on the period that the POIA runs for and state very clearly what can and cannot be done. If you fear that your POA has been abused then you should register your complaint with any occupational association they belong to and apply to the public attorney at the local justice courts known as Adliye Sarayi in Turkish. You will need to provide documented evidence of how your POA has been abused and you will have this if you have monitored every transaction by your agent. Abolishing Your Power of Attorney
Your POA can be terminated by you at any time, but to do so you must contact your notary in Turkey or the Turkish Consulate General in London and inform them that you are revoking your Power of Attorney. You must also write to your agent informing him of your action and make sure that he has received the letter. Additionally ask for all of your documents and copies of your Power of Attorney back. You should also tell your bank and any other financial institutions involved so that they are aware that the POA is no longer valid and let your agent know that you are doing this.
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