Do I need a Power of Attorney for Property?
A is a legal document that lets you choose someone you trust to make decisions for you about your money and property.
You're called the grantor. The person you name is called your attorney. Your attorney can be a family member, a close friend, or anyone else you trust.
A Power of Attorney for Property lets your attorney deal with your money and property for you. This can include:
- doing your banking
- signing cheques
- buying, selling, or leasing real estate
- buying consumer goods and services
Your attorney cannot:
- make or change your will
- make or change who's a beneficiary on your insurance policy or a registered plan, such as your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)
- make a new Power of Attorney for you
A Power of Attorney for Property can start working as soon as you sign it. This means your attorney can start managing your money and property even while you're mentally capable.
But you can limit how long the Power of Attorney lasts. And you can limit what your attorney can do.
If you want your Power of Attorney to come into effect only when you're mentally incapable, you must include a statement saying this.
A Power of Attorney that lets your attorney go on acting for you if you become mentally incapable of managing your property is called a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.
Decisions about your personal care
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is another kind of Power Attorney. It lets your attorney make decisions about your personal care if you become mentally incapable.
This includes:
- decisions about your personal care, such as where you live, what you eat, getting dressed, washing and having a bath, and staying safe
- decisions about your health care that deal with:
- health-care treatments
- moving into a long-term care home
- personal care services in a long-term care home
You can name the same person or people as your attorney for property, your attorney for personal care, and your or executor of your will. But you need a separate document for each.
