While still alive, she made a special power of attorney authorizing me to transact business with the bank.
I sent the Special Power of Attorney to my sister in the Philippines to act on my behalf and withdraw the said money. However, the SPA was not recognized by the bank.
According to the bank we should have SPA authenticated in the Philippine Consulate (with red ribbon) in order to make the document legal in the Philippines. My father also own two vacant lots in the Philippines. Our parents are all dead.
Can you give us advice how to handle this situation? And how to proceed from here? Thank you.
Ans: What you and your surviving sibling should do, is through your lawyer in the Philippines to work on the settlement and liquidation of the ESTATE of your deceased parents. This can be done by executing a document known as Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate with Special Power of Attorney, authorizing your sibling in the Philippines to act for and on your behalf.
In essence, the Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate in effect appropriate and divide amongst yourselves (all the surviving heirs-Siblings) whatever properties (including money in the bank) that your parents had left at the time of their demise.
This Extrajudicial Settlement, will have to be signed by all surviving heirs, and will have to be notarized before our Philippine Consulate in Toronto or any Philippine Consulate within the proximity of your residence in Canada.
The notarized document(with red ribbon) after its publication in the newspaper of general circulation for least 3 consecutive weeks in the Philippines, and upon compliance of the required formalities, (payment estate taxes, documentary and transfer taxes, and other prescribed fees ) will then serve as legal and acceptable document in Philippine jurisdiction , for purposes, among others, of transferring title of the land to the designate heirs(siblings) , as well as in the withdrawal of money in the bank account(s) of your father/mother to whomsoever this money is appropriated as appearing in the Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate.
Thus, your first order of business is to engage the services of lawyer in the Philippines, who can provide you the necessary professional assistance. Thank you for writing.
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