Special/General Power of Attorney, As Required by GSIS Options

[soniamull]

My sister in the Philippines is processing the claims of the educational plans of my children with GSIS on my behalf as the planholder. This is anti-inflammatory type of educational plan on reimbursement basis.
GSIS is giving us a hard time releasing the funds while in fact the claims were long overdue since I left the country in the Fall of 2007. What they require now is a special power of attorney notarized at the consulate office of the Phil. Embassy in the U.S.
Has anyone experienced here having to drive very far from one's location just to get any power of attorney notarized?

[JLW36]

My sister in the Philippines is processing the claims of the educational plans of my children with GSIS on my behalf as the planholder. This is anti-inflammatory type of educational plan on reimbursement basis.
GSIS is giving us a hard time releasing the funds while in fact the claims were long overdue since I left the country in the Fall of 2007. What they require now is a special power of attorney notarized at the consulate office of the Phil. Embassy in the U.S.
Has anyone experienced here having to drive very far from one's location just to get any power of attorney notarized?

I had experienced the process to consularized important documents. I think you are talking about consularization since you have mention Philippine Embassy in the U.S. You have 2 options here appear in person or just mail it to them. My first and second sets of documents I did not appear in person I just mailed to the Philippine Consulate in Washington, D.C and the third set I decided to appear in person since I thought of renewing my Philippine Passport and reporting my marriage abroad to make my travel worth. I took an early morning flight 7:30am all the way to Washington, D.C from Atlanta, Ga. and had to catch a flight back to Atlanta the same day at 6pm. I went there with a fellow filipina friend also a wof member also from Georgia. But mine was different I need to consularized a documents for a purchased of a house in the Philippines and i need an attorney in fact to be appointed in behalf of me since I am here in the U.S and my cousin represents me. If you're not going to appear in person you normally have to notarized your documents first in the state where you live and then after you had notarized it you had to bring it then to the Clerk of Court (Located in the Courthouse) where the notary public that notarized your documents is registered because the Clerk of Court need to verify or authenticate the signature on that notarized documents. I can't remember how much I paid for the clerk of court. Then I have to bring them to the office of the secretary of state for another signature. I think I paid $10.00 each for the Secretary of State signature on my documents they also issued a certificate attached on each of my documents and with a sealed. Then your all set to mail your documents to the Philippine Consulate of your State jurisdiction.
Like mine (Georgia) it was Washington, D.C. But if you want to go personally to the Consulate you don't need to notarize any of your documents and you don't need to go to the clerk of court for signature verification of the notary public and you also don't need the signature and Certificate from Sectretary of State. Philippine Consulate just need your appearance to consularized the documents. I paid $25.00 for each documents consularized. The consul will signed each documents and had a ribbon attached on each documents with the consulate sealed. I did not get it the same day. They mailed it back to me a week after. Just be ready for a pre-stamped envelop that they will use to mail it back to you. Again this is just my experience it could varies from state to state.

This post has been edited by JLW36: Nov 25 2009, 07:51 AM