Practice area
Powers of attorney in British Columbia
A power of attorney lets someone else deal with your money and property: pay your bills, run your accounts, sell or refinance your home. An enduring power of attorney keeps working if you lose the capacity to manage your own affairs, which is the situation most people make one for. Without it, the alternative is an application to the court for somebody to be appointed to manage your affairs, which is slow, public and expensive for the people trying to help you.
Who this is for
Powers of attorney
Any adult, and particularly anyone who owns property. A mortgage cannot be renewed, a home cannot be sold, and a bank account cannot be operated by a spouse or a child simply because they are one. A power of attorney is also the practical answer to being away for a signing, running a business, or preparing a will, which is when most people make one.
The work
What we do
- 01Take your instructions on your own, and satisfy ourselves that you understand what you are signing. Capacity is the foundation of the document and it is assessed at the time of signing, which is one reason not to leave it until it is needed.
- 02Decide what kind you need. An enduring power of attorney survives your incapacity. A limited one covers a specific transaction or period, such as a sale you will be out of the country for, and ends with it.
- 03Choose your attorney and an alternate, and settle how they act if there is more than one: together on everything, or each on their own.
- 04Decide when it takes effect: immediately on signing, or only once you are no longer capable, as confirmed in writing by the people the document names.
- 05Set the powers and the limits. The Act restricts an attorney from benefiting themselves, making gifts, or delegating their authority unless the document expressly allows it, so each of those is a decision rather than a default.
- 06Prepare it for the Land Title Office if it may be used for land, which has its own execution and registration requirements.
- 07Supervise the signing, and explain to your attorney what they have taken on: the duty to act in your interests, to keep your property separate from theirs, and to keep records.
Your part
What we need from you
Gathering these early is the single biggest thing you can do to keep a file on schedule.
- Two pieces of government-issued identificationOne has to carry your photograph. Bring them to the meeting.
- Your attorney's full legal name, address and contact detailsAnd the same for an alternate. Your attorney has to sign the document before they can act under it, so we need to be able to reach them.
- The address of any property you ownA power of attorney that may be used to deal with land is prepared and registered differently.
- Any power of attorney you have given beforeA new document does not automatically cancel an old one. We deal with both.
- Your decisions on when it takes effect and what it allowsGifts, benefits to the attorney, delegation, compensation. The questionnaire asks each one, and we go through anything you are unsure of at the meeting.
Risk
Watch for
The things that actually derail this kind of file, rather than the ones that sound alarming.
A power of attorney that ends when it is needed
An ordinary power of attorney ends the moment you lose capacity, which is exactly when your family needs it. Only an enduring one continues, and it has to say so. Check any document you already have for the word.
A bank that wants its own form
Financial institutions often have their own power of attorney form, limited to the accounts they hold, and some are slow to accept a general document. It is worth asking your bank in advance what it will accept, and having the enduring power of attorney registered with them while you are able to answer questions about it.
An attorney who has not signed
The attorney signs the document too, and cannot act until they have. A power of attorney kept in a drawer with only your signature on it is not ready to use.
An attorney who is also a beneficiary
The person managing your money is often the person who will inherit it, and the Act limits what they may do for their own benefit unless the document says otherwise. Where a spouse or a child is the attorney, whether and how far to lift those limits is a decision to make deliberately.
Questions
Common questions
Does a power of attorney cover medical decisions?
No. A power of attorney deals with property and finances only. Health and personal care decisions are covered by a representation agreement, which is a separate document, and most people making one make the other.
Do I lose control by signing one?
No. You can keep managing your own affairs for as long as you are able, and you can revoke the document at any time while you have capacity. If you would rather your attorney had no authority until you need them, the document can be written to take effect only on incapacity.
Can I appoint two people?
Yes, and the document says how they act: together on every decision, which is safer and slower, or each on their own, which is practical and relies on trust. An alternate, who acts only if the first cannot, is a third arrangement and usually the right one for a single attorney.
Can my attorney sell my house?
Under an enduring power of attorney that has been prepared for land and registered at the Land Title Office, yes. The Land Title Office has its own requirements for a power of attorney it will accept, and a document prepared without them in mind can be refused at the moment it is needed.
When does it end?
On your death, on revocation while you have capacity, on a court order, or, for a power of attorney that is not enduring, on your incapacity. Your executor takes over from your attorney when you die; the two roles do not overlap, and they are often the same person.
Talk to us about your file
We quote your file in writing before we start work, so the number on your statement of adjustments is the number you agreed to.
