As a lawyer who practices in the area of wills & estates, I often get asked by people to help them with a living will. Unfortunately, there is no such thing under the laws of Ontario! The term is used in other jurisdictions, such as the U.S. In Ontario these days we use something called a “Power of Attorney” or a “POA” for short. The person who is given the authority to act under a POA is called the Attorney, but they don’t have to be a lawyer – once again, a source of confusion if you watch American television and you are used to the other definition of attorney.
There are two types of POA. One covers your material goods and financial affairs, the other covers health care decisions. I think the public is well served by having two different types of POA. There are people in our lives who are great at dollars and cents, dealing with numbers, and handling small details. There are people in our lives who are better at emotional decisions, and dealing with the big picture. Some of us are lucky enough to know people who are great at both those things, but there are a lot of people out there who are good at one of those and not the other. It’s good that people in Ontario have the ability to delegate those tasks to people who are better suited to handle them.
You get your POAs made for the same reason you get your will drafted: it protects your loved ones, expresses your values and protects your legacy. POAs are different from a will in that they kick in while you’re alive. The need for POAs is only increasing as medical technology advances. We’re seeing more and more people who are alive but lack the capacity to take care of their affairs or make important health care decisions.
I tell people that the biggest priority is picking someone you trust to be your Attorney. Your Attorney steps into your shoes to make decisions on your behalf. It can be big things – when to stop life support, whether to go ahead with risky surgery, when to sell the family farm; or it can be the little things that have a big impact: what happens to your pets, what charities will you keep on supporting, will you keep on giving gifts to your family and friends. With such broad powers, it’s important to have your own POAs drafted so that your values are clearly spelled out.
We don’t know what the future holds, but giving authority and clear instructions to people you trust you’ll be better able to deal with whatever comes.
By Robert Hiseler
