Special Notarial Acts: Powers of Attorney, Wills, and Estate Matters
What the domain tests
This domain tests the most heavily used special acts: powers of attorney, wills, and estate instruments. The exam focuses on capacity, formalities, scope of authority, revocation, and the notary’s role in succession from the acta de notoriedad through adjudication.
Core rules
- A poder may be general or special. For acts of disposition such as sale, mortgage, or donation, the power must expressly grant that faculty; a general power may not suffice.
- The power identifies the principal, attorney-in-fact, scope, duration, and whether substitution is allowed. Revocation must be notarized and, where possible, communicated to the attorney and third parties.
- Wills may be open or closed, and the Civil Code recognizes other forms in exceptional circumstances. The notarial will requires capacity, identification, witnesses where required, reading, and signature; the notary must not draft a will that invades the legítima.
- Estate matters include the acta de notoriedad de herederos, inventory, avalúo, adjudication, and partition. The notary verifies death, kinship, marriage, representation, and charges.
- Adjudication transfers hereditary shares; partition divides the estate. Both must respect the legítima and the rights of creditors.
- A will may be revoked by a later will or by the forms allowed by law; the notary must check for a later instrument when administering an estate.
Worked example
A Cuban resident in Miami executes a power before a Florida notary authorizing the sale of a Havana apartment. The power is apostilled, translated into Spanish, and presented in Cuba. The notary checks that it contains an express faculty to sell, the price range, and the power to sign the deed. A generic “administration” power is insufficient. The notary also confirms that the principal is alive and that the power has not been revoked.
Traps that cost marks
- Accepting a general power for a sale without an express disposition faculty.
- Ignoring revocation or a later will.
- Drafting a will without witnesses when the form requires them.
- Treating the acta de notoriedad as a final judgment of heirship.
- Forgetting the legítima in estate adjudication.