Inheritance Power of Attorney for Iran

An inheritance power of attorney (vekalatnameh) authorizes another person to perform specified acts; it does not itself prove that the principal is an heir or transfer ownership of estate property. The heir may still need a registered death, a final Iranian succession certificate and asset-specific documents before a court, registry, bank or tax authority will act.

Iranian Civil Code Article 656 defines agency, while Articles 663 and 667 require the agent to stay within the granted authority and protect the principal's interests. A useful inheritance power should therefore be drafted around the actual file: obtaining records, applying or objecting in the heirship process, appearing in proceedings, handling tax steps, registering inherited shares, dividing property, receiving documents or funds, or conducting a sale. Authority for one of these acts should not be assumed to include the others.

Overseas Iranians commonly submit consular powers of attorney through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Mikhak system and then follow the instructions of the competent Iranian mission. Official consular guidance stresses precise text and sufficient identifying details. The draft should be settled before submission because later corrections, missing asset information or an unsuitable appointment can delay the estate work.

Broad sale language deserves particular caution. Supreme Court Unification Judgment No. 847 confirms that an instruction allowing sale “at any price” does not remove the agent's legal duty to protect the principal's interests. Clauses on self-dealing, settlement, waiver, receipt of money, substitution of another agent and irrevocability should be used only after the consequences are explained and the principal's informed instructions are documented.