Re: xy3-spain to xy4-uweb119

[John junja@xxxxxxxx]

I don't know Spain but on a knowledge of France and the rest
of the text, it looks to me as if the word "Notary" should
be translated, for British English, by "lawyer" or "solicitor".
A "solicitor" is a category of "lawyer" who does the desk
work. A "barrister" is a lawyer who does the pleading in court.
In Britain, public notaries have more limited capacities,
much as Robert describes. But in France "notaires" are (a
3rd category of) lawyers with an official status; they are
the lawyers who deal with house sales, not on an adversarial
basis, as in the UK and I presume the USA, but alone.
John



XYSANZA wrote:

      Information in English> Buying a property in Spain

      Print
         Buying a property in Spain
         If you intend buying a property in Spain, whether this
be an apartment or house on the coast, a flat in town, a plot of land or
country estate, THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS GO AND SEE A NOTARY.
         Do not sign any private contract without first
consulting with a Notary. Remember as well that the ideal thing is to do
the DEED directly, because THIS CAN BE DONE IN JUST A MATTER OF HOURS as
soon as an agreement is reached with the seller, and no other kind of
document need be signed previously.
         The Notary will draw up the deed, find the best balance
of interests
         -adjusting to the instructions of the parties- and
provide special legal advice to the party that most needs it. He will
control the legality of the claim and demand the necessary licences and
authorisations.
         In this way the buyer can always be sure he is buying
in accordance with the Law and the state of liens and encumbrances
described, because -except in cases of urgency or justified waiver- the
Notary should undertake to check the ownership and state of liens and
encumbrances at the Registry Office. Once the deed has been signed, a
fax will be sent to the Land Registry in order to gain priority over any
entry that is submitted afterwards.
         In most cases, the Notary can be asked to handle the
question of paying your taxes, reporting your investment as non-resident
to the Spanish Authorities, handle the question of filing the deed at
the respective official bodies and at the Land Registry,

         Making last will and testament in Spain
         The Notary will inform you about all the legal
possibilities depending on your national law, because in certain
countries a married person with children does not count on the same
freedom as a single person without descendants. You should also remember
that there are times, even though the testator is not a Spanish subject,
that Spanish Law is applied if the property is located in Spain. After
you have decided on a special attribution, the Notary will adjust your
wishes to the strict testamentary demands, finding the most correct
formula to suit your wishes and produce the desired effect, avoiding any
technical error that could backfire your intentions.
         The original copy will always be kept at the Notary
office or at that one of his successors, thus avoiding risks of loss or
theft.
         In addition, the Notary sends a report to the Ministry
of Justice simply notifying it that the will has been made, without of
course disclosing the contents. The record is kept secret until the
death of the testator, at which time, thanks to this we can know what
was the deceased's last official will, thus avoiding possible errors
that could later prove serious.
         Because of all this, avoid making an holographic will
(written by hand by the actual testator without notary authorisation).
The absence of suitable advice, added to the risks of loss, subtraction
or omission, together with the need to record it in an official
instrument in a term of five years from death of the testator in a legal
action, renders this inadvisable, except in very special cases. etc.




----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Holmgren" 
To: 
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2006 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: xy3-spain to xy4-uweb119
** Reply to message from "Patricia M. Godfrey" 
on Mon, 13
Feb 2006 17:24:40 -0500
Here notaries just stamp documents to
certify them official.
Nowadays. But originally (well, *originally*, way way back, notaries
wrote
legal documents, as lawyers do today; but in the USA...) their chief
function
was to certify that an illiterate signator, who placed his "mark" (X) on
documents, was indeed the person who was intended or entitled to
sign. An
anachronism, really. Witnesses served a different purpose. They
swore that
the person who signed actually *understood* what they were signing -- an
important issue in an unlettered society. In some states, e.g. Maine,
notaries
still take their job seriously: you hold up your right hand, they read a
statement asking whether you are who you say you are, whether you can
read and
write, and you swear. In New York, they just say "gimme two dollars",
and
wham! stamp the document.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
-----------------------------