Legal Definitions - procuration

Procuration refers to the act of formally granting someone the authority to act on your behalf, or the authority itself that is given to that person. Essentially, it's about empowering another individual to make decisions or perform actions as your representative, often in legal or financial matters.

Here are a few examples to illustrate this concept:

• Business Operations: Imagine a small business owner who needs to travel internationally for several weeks. Before leaving, she executes a document formally authorizing her trusted office manager to sign routine contracts with suppliers and approve invoices up to a specific amount in her absence. This act of formally empowering the manager is an example of procuration. The authority the manager now holds to sign contracts and approve payments is also considered procuration.

• Personal Legal Matters: An individual is preparing for a major surgery and anticipates a period of recovery where they might be unable to manage their personal finances. They decide to appoint their spouse as their attorney-in-fact through a durable power of attorney, granting the spouse the power to pay bills, manage investments, and handle banking transactions on their behalf. The act of creating and signing this document, thereby vesting authority in the spouse, is procuration. The legal power the spouse now possesses to manage these affairs is also procuration.

• Real Estate Transactions: A property owner lives in a different state and wants to sell a rental property. Instead of traveling for the closing, they formally appoint their real estate agent to act as their representative, giving the agent the specific authority to sign all necessary sale documents, including the deed, on their behalf. This formal appointment and the specific power granted to the agent to execute the sale documents constitute procuration.