POWERS OF ATTORNEY FOR PROPERTY OVERVIEW
A Continuing Power of Attorney for Property is a document in which you (as “grantor”) can appoint someone (your “attorney”) to manage your assets on your behalf. Subject to any conditions, an attorney for property can do anything you could do with your property except make a Will (or change designations of beneficiary under a life insurance policy or registered plan). It is called a “continuing” power of attorney, as it takes effect as of the time it is signed (unless it contains instructions to the contrary) and it continues to remain in effect if you lose capacity.
You can appoint different attorneys to act with respect to different aspects of your property, if you choose to do so, provided the documents are drafted correctly and anticipate this. For instance, if you are a landlord and wish to appoint one individual to manage your investment properties and a different individual to manage all of your other financial affairs, you may do so by executing separate powers of attorney documents relating to the different assets.
Sometimes a grantor wishes to give an attorney for property the authority to act for them for a limited purpose, for a specific transaction, period of time, or both. This can be accomplished by signing a limited power of attorney and granting a very specific scope of authority. It is important to ensure you do not revoke your general continuing power of attorney for property with a limited power of attorney document.
If you do not have a valid continuing power of attorney for property and become incapable, a family member or friend would need to make an application to the Court to become your guardian for property, which is a much more complicated process, more expensive, and does not give you the ability to choose who you would like to act on your behalf.
At Berry Gage LLP we can help you prepare and properly execute a continuing power of attorney for property that takes into account your individual circumstances, needs and wishes.