A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you (i.e., the donor) to grant someone the authority to manage your affairs on your behalf. This person is typically known as an attorney. They can make decisions regarding your finances, business, real estate, and more. 

Giving this authority is essential if you want someone to legally represent and advocate for you in situations where you cannot do so yourself.

It’s important to note that a POA doesn’t include medical decisions. If you want to give someone authority to make medical decisions, use LawDepot’s Medical Power of Attorney.

There are multiple types of Powers of Attorney. Provinces and territories may use different names to refer to them. The type you create determines the amount of authority and when it comes into effect and ends. Let’s break it down:

Ordinary Power of Attorney

An Ordinary Power of Attorney is only valid as long as you can act for yourself and becomes effective upon signing. You can revoke an Ordinary POA at any time if you have mental capacity. Alternatively, you can set a date for your attorney’s powers to expire within your document. 

Although they can grant general authority, Ordinary POAs typically grant specific powers. 

For instance, say you only need your attorney for financial issues. You can create a financial Power of Attorney and limit their powers by specifying which bank accounts they can access and how much money they can withdraw. Then, you set the POA to expire once the task is complete or when you can return to your duties.

Enduring Power of Attorney

An Enduring Power of Attorney, also known as a Durable Power of Attorney, remains valid even if you become incapacitated. Situations where you may become incapacitated include the following:

• A sudden and severe medical event—like a stroke
• An injury while at work, driving, etc.
• A debilitating illness

Once an authority deems you mentally incapacitated, you cannot revoke your Enduring POA. 

Someone with an Enduring Power of Attorney will likely grant broad authority over the different areas of their life. This way, their attorney can manage important and recurring tasks while the donor is incapacitated. 

An Enduring POA can also be made as a Springing Power of Attorney—which means the document goes into effect on a certain date or upon a certain event (e.g., as soon as the donor becomes incapacitated) instead of when signed. This is also why they say it’s springing into effect. 

Yes, if you’re an adult with capacity, you should make a Power of Attorney. 

You may think of a POA as a form of insurance. Also, it’s a key part of your estate planning. It ensures that someone you trust will help you and care for you while you’re alive. 

Giving this authority is important if you want someone to care for your best interests if for any reason you’re unable to do so yourself. Your attorney can help represent you if you: 

• You’re entering old age and need help with day-to-day tasks
• Acquire a health condition that may affect mental capacity (e.g., dementia or a terminal illness)
• Work in a high-risk environment, and an incident occurs
• Leave the country for extended periods

Without a POA, a family member would typically have to apply to become a court-appointed guardian to gain decision-making authority. This can delay any necessary actions in an already stressful situation, such as when one becomes incapacitated or an incident occurs while travelling.

You can name your spouse, a family member, or a trusted friend as your attorney. You may also wish to name a professional, like your lawyer or accountant, as your attorney. 

Each province or territory has a Power of Attorney Act (or similar legislation) that regulates who’s eligible to be an attorney. Common restrictions and requirements include:

• An attorney can’t be involved in any bankruptcy proceedings when you assign powers to them
• If you live in a care facility or nursing home, an attorney cannot be someone who works in or owns the facility
• An attorney must be of legal age and have capacity

You’re free to choose who you’d like to act as your attorney as long as they meet the legal requirements for your jurisdiction. Whoever you name should be someone you trust to fulfill their duties and follow your wishes. 

The person you name as an attorney has the right to refuse the role, so you should discuss your plans with this person before naming them in your POA. You can also grant authority to more than one person and specify that your attorneys must agree before acting on your behalf or if they can act independently of each other.

You should also identify an alternate attorney who can act for you if your original choice is unable to fulfill the role.

With a Power of Attorney, you can grant your attorney general or specific powers in various areas, including the following:

Financial powers

Finances come with various responsibilities, and having an attorney assist in these tasks can help in many situations. Creating a Power of Attorney for finances can give your attorney the power to:

• Pay bills (e.g. use your bank account or pension plan to pay your mortgage)
• File personal and business taxes
• Collect and cover your debts (e.g., rent payments)
• Donate to charities

Certain laws might restrict how an attorney can deal with your money and property. Your attorney must keep their finances separate from yours. You can also require your attorney to provide financial reports to individuals of your choosing.

Business powers

In addition to your personal finances, your attorney can oversee the best interests of your business. This can include making employment, budgetary, and investment decisions that align with your wishes. 

An attorney can also file corporate taxes, serve as proxies in meetings, and vote as shareholders in your absence.

Real estate powers

If you’re away for extended periods or become incapacitated, your attorney can handle real estate matters, such as:

• Managing and maintaining your rental property
• Maintaining your home (e.g., making repairs)
• Managing a mortgage
• Selling real estate

Legal powers

Your attorney can hire a lawyer to help manage legal concerns like claims and litigation matters. This ability means they can enter lawsuits, communicate with your lawyer, file documents with the court, and more.

If an attorney isn’t a licensed lawyer, they cannot perform any tasks that require a practicing lawyer to complete.

Additional powers

You can add several other kinds of authority for your attorney. This can include insurance transactions and selling, purchasing, or exchanging goods. You may also want to include family matters such as:

• Paying for your children’s tuition or medical expenses
• Gifting money or items to family and friends

Prohibited powers

An attorney is a fiduciary, meaning they must act in your best interest regardless of the authority you give them. This is why they can only have authority in areas you grant them in your Power of Attorney. 

There are certain authorities that an attorney cannot be granted or do on your behalf. Examples of these actions include:

• Creating a new POA on your behalf and assigning someone else as your attorney 
• Making personal decisions for you, such as entering a marriage or filing for divorce
• Creating a new Last Will and Testament or altering your existing Will
• Altering the beneficiaries on your insurance

Additionally, an attorney can't make medical decisions for you in a POA. If you want to put that type of provision in place, consider creating a Medical Power of Attorney.

You can easily write your Power of Attorney using LawDepot’s customizable template. Our user-friendly questionnaire guides you to include all the necessary and applicable information for the kind of POA you select, which includes:

1. Selecting your location to make a valid document for your province or territory
2. Adding your name and naming an attorney and an alternate attorney
3. Granting specific or general powers to your attorney
4. Describing any restrictions for your attorney
5. Adding a form of payment for an attorney
6. Add the signing details for your document

If you’re creating an Ordinary POA, you must include an end date if it applies to your needs.

Each province or territory has signing requirements, but Ordinary and Enduring POAs usually don’t need notarization. However, it may be required in some circumstances.

Some institutions may require a notarized POA to accept your attorney’s authority. For example, the Land Titles Act in your jurisdiction may require notarization if your attorney handles real estate transactions or files the POA at the Land Titles Office.

Each province and territory has laws on the creation of Powers of Attorney. These laws include restrictions on who can be an attorney, the process for determining capacity, and the signing requirements to make a valid Enduring POA.

You have different options to revoke a Power of Attorney. The first option is to create a new POA that revokes previous versions of the document. Another option is to use a Revocation of Power of Attorney.

When you change or revoke a POA, you should inform any institutions that have the original on file and your attorneys. Then, make sure they have a copy of your new POA when applicable. 

LawDepot’s Power of Attorney automatically includes a statement to revoke any previous versions of your document.