Transferring land by way of a Power of Attorney should be done by all parties together to prevent disaster. Perhaps I have overstated my concern a touch but here’s a scenario that happened at our office.
I once had a client who wanted to purchase a house from a family member. When it came time to have the family member sign the transfer, it turned out that she was on a 3 month holiday. I sent the transfer to her by e-mail, she took it to a Notary, signed it, had it properly completed, sealed, and translated.
That is where the problem began.
The translator misnamed the land, exchanging a “3” for a “2” in the legal description. The Notary preferred a different spelling of one of the names on the Land Title to the Canadian spelling of that name. Then the translator didn’t get the translation Notarized.
The result… a delay and a court application to rectify the deficiencies.
The fix… either a costly court application or have the transferor sign the transfer here in Alberta, where it will be done in accordance with Alberta law. It turns out that the family member was in Alberta until a few days before the deal was set to close. My client could have saved a lot of his hard-earned money if he had brought her to my office prior to her leaving for vacation.
It is best to include all parties to sign transfer agreements in person at our office to properly complete all components. This will prevent costly mistakes and delays.