The wife can sign the listing agreement for her husband who is overseas if he has given her what document?

• A. Power of attorney
• B. A notarized statement of consent
• C. A living trust
• D. A marriage license

Answer: (A)

Key concept: signing authority for someone remotely comes from a power of attorney. When a property owner is overseas, they can grant a durable power of attorney to a spouse, which explicitly authorizes the spouse to handle real estate matters and sign documents like a listing agreement on the owner’s behalf. The power of attorney must clearly authorize real estate actions and be valid under the state's law where the property is located (often durable, so it stays in effect if the principal becomes incapacitated and may require proper notarization and, if used abroad, appropriate authentication).

Why the other options don’t fit: a notarized statement of consent by itself doesn’t give formal signing authority for contracts; a living trust changes how assets are managed rather than granting someone general signing power for real estate documents; a marriage license has no bearing on who may sign contracts on behalf of a spouse.