In collaboration with the Greek Consulate in Toronto our Office prepares your Greek Power of Attorney. We have to study your case very carefully, so that your P.o.A has all necessary materials included and will not have to be repeated!

When we have all information needed we prepare the text and email it to the Greek Consulate. They will call you to make an appointment where you sign the text and take it with you.

We need a lot of formation to prepare your P.o.A, i.e. your passport (Canadian or Greek), your Greek name (in Greek alphabet), your father's and mother's name, spouse's first and last name (for females), address, profession etc. Also the first and last name of the person you appoint, his father's name (and spouse's name if a female), address, profession. 

Although you can sign a P.o.A. with an expired passport, if you do not have an AFM Number in Greece (similar to SIN) you need a valid passport.

Except for passports (Canadian or Greek) and the plastic Greek id card NO OTHER documents are accepted (i.e. driver's license, birth certificate etc). So make sure that you have a passport (necessarily NOT expired if you ask for an AFM number). Canadian Citizenship Cards are accepted for AFM but not for a P.o.A.)

A Power of Attorney is a very powerful document. Don't sign it if you don't understand even a few words, because you may lose your property in Greece!

Ask yourself the following questions:

* If you trust the person you appoint as your representative.

* If you have a sample of P.o.A. from Greece, who made it? Do you trust this person?

* If you understand completely what you sign.

If you say NO to one of the above questions DO NOT sign a P.o.A, otherwise you will regret it. Ask for legal advice.

Although you may cancel a P.o.W you signed, all acts done in the meantime are binding you (e.g. if some property was sold or donated, the act is final). There is no way to cancel acts that have already be made.

We have seen hundreds of Greek Canadians to lose their properties in Greece because they signed a Power of Attorney they received from Greece, without really knowing what they signed. Unfortunately we cannot do anything to reverse the bad things that happened, because that's exactly what is the meaning of P.o.A: someone is "you" when selling or donating a property.

In Short:

Never sign a P.o.A without a consultation by a Greek Lawyer (not a Greek CANADIAN lawyer, who of course does not know the Greek law)

Never appoint a person you don't trust 100%

Never sign something you don't understand completely.

Be sure that your P.o.A. has all information needed, otherwise (without consultation) you may redo the same P.o.A. several times!   (many clients come to me after 2 or 3 unsuccessful P.o.A's!)

If you are familiar with the Greek Language you can read some articles about P.o.A. I published in various newspapers.

Note: 

If you don't speak, understand or write Greek, the Greek Consulate may ask for an interpreter to be present during the signing of your P.o.A. (at some small extra cost).

Σε βάθος - In Depth >> Legal Articles IN GREEK

General Remarks
  These articles were published by the Greek Newspapers in Toronto "Evdomada" and "Greek Press". They are written in a simple, non legal language for our readers in Toronto. We try to avoid legal terms and make the text as clear as possible. 
  Many of these articles are published almost a decade ago - in the meantime the law may have changed -- please take this into consideration.
  The articles are written for the general reader and they offer some general guidelines, they may not be valid in your case. Please contact us if you need specific information. We assume no responsibility for actions taken because of these articles if we haven't study and advise you on the peculiarities of your case.