Power of attorney

You can give another person, or a business like a trust company, the authority to manage your financial or business affairs with a power of attorney. This authority can be:

• specific, for example, only to do banking or cash pension cheques; or
• general, which means you are giving the person or business the power and responsibility to conduct all of your business and financial affairs.

Ask your attorney to keep records. Your attorney is acting as your agent and should be consulting with you or reporting to you about actions taken on your behalf.

Representation agreement

Unlike a power of attorney, a representation agreement covers personal and health care decision-making as well as management of financial affairs. You may make a representation agreement with:

• standard powers that allows your representative to handle routine finances for you like banking, paying bills as well as making some health and personal care decisions if you are no longer able to do so.
• additional powers that give your representative the authority to buy and sell real estate for you, run your business or make some very serious health decisions like refusing life support and treatment.

The representative must consult with you before making decisions on your behalf, act honestly and keep records. You can also appoint a monitor to make sure that your representative is doing a good job on your behalf.

You are not giving up your right to make your own decisions or manage your own affairs when you make a representation agreement or power of attorney and can change or cancel these documents at any time as long as you are mentally capable of making that decision.

* * *

Please also see our info sheet called Giving Other People Authority to Help You Manage Your Affairs for more information.

Posted on: Thursday, August 6th, 2009

In section(s): Legal Issues