Ways to Prevent and Resolve POA Disputes When a person makes a Power of Attorney document (POA), they give decision-making authority to another person or people. The people named in the POA document to have decision-making authority are called attorneys. These attorneys are not usually lawyers – in the POA context, the term attorney simply means the person with legal
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Prescribed By Law: Duties of Attorneys for Property The duties of an attorney for property are prescribed by law. The law comes from statutes (legislation passed by provincial or federal government), regulations (which accompany legislation and which give further details or expand upon provisions in the legislation); and case law (judge-made law). What’s my point? Most attorneys for property are
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Isn’t a POA Expensive If a Lawyer Drafts It? The quick answer is “no.” And here’s why: Considering that a Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document affecting a person’s lifetime financial security and personal liberty, people should invest in having it done correctly. How Much A Power of Attorney Document Costs How much of an investment, you ask?
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Can You Force Someone to Get a Capacity Assessment? Family and friends will often notice changes in a person’s mental health or mental capacity, even if the person lacks insight into these changes. Family members and friends often becomes concerned their loved one lacks capacity: to make decisions about finances or personal care to make (or to have made) a
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Capacity and Personal Care Capacity is decision-specific. The critical question to ask is, capacity to do what? Capacity to manage one’s personal care is a specific legal test, described in the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 in Ontario. To have capacity to make one’s own personal care decisions, one must: understand information that is relevant to making a decision concerning one’s
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Who Should You Appoint as Attorney for Personal Care? An attorney for personal care is a person you appoint in a Power of Attorney document (POA), to make personal care decisions for you if you ever lack capacity to make those decisions yourself. An attorney for personal care is not usually a lawyer. In the POA context, an attorney is
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What is a Power of Attorney for Personal Care? A Power of Attorney for personal care (POA) is a document giving decision-making authority over another person’s personal care. The person given the authority is called the attorney. The attorney is not usually a lawyer. In the POA context, the term attorney just means the person with legal authority. Health and
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Elder Law, Estate Litigation, Ontario, Power of Attorney, Wills & Estates, Wills and Estate Planning
Capacity Assessments: Capacity is decision-specific. The critical question is always, capacity to do what? A capacity assessor will typically determine whether someone has capacity to do any or all of the following: capacity to make a Power of Attorney (POA) capacity to manage their property capacity to make their own personal care decisions capacity to make a Will Capacity assessments can
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What Is a Limited POA for Property? A power of attorney for property (POA) is a document that gives legal authority to another person to make financial and property decisions. The person named in the POA document to make financial decisions is called the “attorney” for property, even though they don’t have to be a lawyer. They are usually a
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When Does a POA for Property Take Effect? A Power of Attorney (POA) for property can be used for different purposes and so, it can take effect at different times. If can be difficult for people to know when the attorney named in the POA document (the person given legal decision-making authority) is allowed to start using the document. Sometimes,
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