What is a plirexousio?

Plerexousio, plirexousio or exousiodotisi is a Power of Attorney. Though not used widely in the US, it is a very common document in Greece. It is basically a document that gives the authority and power to another person to act on your behalf(s).

This document can be very general, and rather complex, when one gives the authority to someone else to do just about everything (not recommended, as it gives the proxy, the authorized person, wide powers, to sell, rent, dispose of, or gift property)

It can also be very specific and limiting, I (or we, if for instance there is a brother and sister giving the Power of Attorney) direct my (our) proxy to do this (i.e. pay a bill, turn on the utilities in my (our) house).

There are three ways to create a Power of Attorney.

  1. Have your US based attorney draft the document and have it translated, notarized as to its content and certify the signature of the translator and the Notary by your local State office with an Apostille.
  2. Have your Greek Attorney draft the initial document and have it finalized by a Notary familiar with Greek law. Then you can either have it translated or interpreted in English (if you do not speak Greek, or you prefer to have it in English for your records) and notarized as to its content and certify the signature of the translator and the Notary by your local State office with an Apostille.
  3. Some US based Notaries are familiar with the Greek law and can draft simple, specific Power of Attorney documents. In this particular case, the Notary will basically write down your wishes, the person that you want to represent you and have you attest as to that fact. You may wish to either have it translated or interpreted into English (if you do not speak Greek, or you prefer to have it in English for your records) and notarized as to its content and certified as to the signature of the translator and the Notary by your local State office with an Apostille.

Power of Attorneys can be durable (they can remain in power forever, or until you revoke them) or temporary (with an expiration date so that they can only be used for a specific amount of time).

Even though the document might sound daunting, it is a rather simple document that conveys your wishes for someone else to do your biding or act on your behalf for anything, from simple maters to very complex transactions. You may revoke the Power of Attorney at any time you wish, by issuing a Revocation of the Power of Attorney and naming someone else as your proxy, or just revoking it in general.

The law requires that you (and all those that provide the Power of Attorney) to sign in person, in the presence of the Notary.

1 thought on “What is a plirexousio?”

  1. Hi Bessie,
    Thank you for contacting me. I am not certain on what information you are looking for. This is a very general post on general information regarding Power of Attorney documents. I am not an attorney, nor do I purport to be one. If you have specific questions on the subject, please feel free to ask me.
    I may know the answer, or else I could recommend an attorney who would be qualified to answer your specific question.

Comments are closed.