2. Get free legal help from Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario funds legal clinics across Ontario. There are 2 types of legal clinics: community legal clinics and specialty legal clinics.
Community legal clinics offer free legal services to people with low incomes who live in a certain area. Some of them help with wills or powers of attorney.
Find the clinic in your area using your postal code and ask if they help with wills and powers of attorney.
Clinics may also offer free brief legal advice without asking about your income. This is called summary advice.
Some specialty legal clinics provide free legal services to specific groups of people with low incomes:
- The Advocacy Centre for the Elderly offers general information about wills and powers of attorney for older adults but they do not help people prepare them.
- The HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) offers advice about powers of attorney for people living with HIV but they do not help people prepare them.
- ARCH Disability Law Centre offers some legal advice to people with a disability about decision-making rights, removing guardianship, supported decision-making, and what to do if the Public Guardian and Trustee controls their finances.
Advocacy North for Elders and Seniors
Advocacy North for Elders and Seniors helps elders or older adults with low incomes who are living in Northern Ontario. They offer free and private legal help about issues including:
- wills and powers of attorney
- consent and capacity
- elder abuse
- retirement homes and long-term care homes