Prospective parents may choose to sign their power of attorney in Guatemala. For many families, this can cut a significant amount of time off of the Guatemalan adoption timeline.

When the power of attorney is executed in the United States, the document must be in English, and be notarized, and then forwarded to the Secretary of State or County Clerk for state legalization.

After the document is legalized, it must go for authentication to the Guatemalan Embassy with jurisdiction over the state in which document was notarized. Finally, the document is sent on to Guatemala where it still must be officially translated before the adoption officially begins.

If the family chooses to sign in Guatemala, the document is signed in Spanish (in front of a translator) and the file can be placed immediately into Family Court.

This is a wonderful option that has allowed many families to decrease the length of their Guatemalan adoption process, and also to have priceless time with their child when he or she was very young (just days in some cases). However, it is not completely without risk.

We'd be pleased to discuss with you traveling to Guatemala to sign the power of attorney so you can decide whether this option is appropriate for your family.