Pursuant to Power of Attorney Act of BC, a Power of Attorney will end in any of the following ways:

·       Once the adult dies (who grants power to his/her attorney)

·       If the adult revokes it

·       After three years, unless the Power of Attorney is enduring or if there is an expiry date explicitly stated in the Power of Attorney

·       If the Power of Attorney is terminated by an act of the court

·       If the attorney resigns (in accordance with section 25 of the Power of Attorney Act)

·       If the attorney:

Ø  resigns (in accordance with section 25 of the Power of Attorney Act)

Ø  is the adult’s spouse and their marriage or marriage-like relationship ends

Ø  becomes incapable or dies

Ø  is bankrupt

Ø  is a corporation and the corporation dissolves, winds up or ceases to carry on business

Ø  is convicted of a prescribed offence or an offence in which the adult was the victim

The original of your Power of Attorney is required by the Attorney when s/he needs to act on your behalf. You can give the document to your Attorney now, or inform him/her of the location of the document. In any case, it should be kept in a safe place.

The original Power of Attorney may be filed in the Land Title Office for future use. The Registrar of Land Titles will, if you wish, make a certified true copy for the filing and give the original back to you.

You can choose almost anyone to be your Attorney. It must be someone that you can really trust as that person will be authorized by you to deal with all financial and legal affairs that you can do on your own.

Pursuant to Power of Attorney Act of BC, an attorney must:

·       be at least 19 years of age (must be an adult)

·       not be someone who provides personal care or health care services to the adult for compensation, unless that person is your child, parent or spouse

·       not be an employee of a facility in which the adult resides and through which the adult receives personal care or health care services, unless that person is your child, parent or spouse

It will depends on whether it meets the requirements of the Power of Attorney Act of BC. Please allow me to review it so that I will be in a better position to advise.

No. A Power of Attorney issued by a financial institution is only operative for the specified transactions performed within that institution. For dealings outside that institution, you will require a Power of Attorney that is made pursuant to the appropriate legislation. I can assist you in preparing a Power of Attorney based on your needs.

A Will only takes effect upon one’s death. In contrast, a Power of Attorney is only effective while one is alive.

Yes, you can. You must specify in your Power of Attorney that whether you want these Attorneys act together or may act separately.

Generally, your attorney can do almost everything that you can do in terms of dealing with legal and financial affairs. Alternatively, you can specifically state in the Power of Attorney that what powers you would grant to your attorney.

Please keep in mind that the attorney CANNOT make a Will for you nor modify anything in the Will for you. Your attorney cannot make health care and personal care decisions for you either. You may appoint someone to make those decisions on your behalf by way of a Representation Agreement. This agreement is created to ensure that your wishes for health care and personal care are met.