Powers of Attorney and
Representation Agreements

We all face the possibility of becoming temporarily or permanently unable to make decisions or provide consent for ourselves. Should this happen, it is important to ensure that you have designated someone you trust to take care of your financial and legal matters, and/or make healthcare decisions on your behalf. This process is called Incapacity Planning, and it also takes into account how your dependants will be cared for in this event.

Our lawyers are well versed in Incapacity Planning, and can help you to achieve peace of mind by guiding you through options and putting a contingency plan in place. Proper planning will help to prevent the necessity of a more onerous and expensive Committeeship* process.

Our services in this area include:

Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney allows you to designate one or more individuals you trust to take care of your financial and legal matters if you are unable to do so yourself. The scope of authority you grant is tailored according to your comfort level and its purpose. Having a Power of Attorney in place can prevent problems such as:

• Your spouse being unable to sell or refinance your jointly held property, where necessary;
• Your solely held bank accounts effectively being frozen, and funds being inaccessible to your dependants; and
• Your investments being unmanageable.

Representation Agreements

A Representation Agreement allows you to designate one or more individuals you trust to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. While you are capable, you are the only one who has the right to make these decisions; however, if you are ever unable to do so, your designated representative under a Representation Agreement can consent or refuse on your behalf.

Only a representative designated by a Representation Agreement can give or refuse consent to life support for you, if you’ve specified that authority.

Advance Directives

An Advance Directive sets out your wishes for healthcare in the event that you are incapable of expressing these yourself at a later date. It can be fairly general or contain specific provisions regarding the type of healthcare or treatments that you will or will not consent to. For some, this will be an important document for setting out wishes that relate to strongly held preferences or beliefs.

Should you require assistance with Powers of Attorney, Representation Agreements or Advance Directives, contact us to move forward confidently with an LK Law lawyer.