Introduction to Power of Attorney

The attorney is like your agent. He or she must act honestly, in good faith and in your best interests. Your attorney must keep careful records of any financial activities, and must keep your affairs separate from his or her own.

A general power of attorney gives your attorney the power to do anything financial or legal that you can’t do for yourself. this could include dealing with bank or credit union accounts, getting information from Canada Revenue Agency in order to do your income tax, insuring or selling your car, or selling real estate.

You can also limit your attorney’s powers by making a specific power of attorney only for a specific task. For example, you can give someone power of attorney to sell a particular piece of property or you can give them powers for a limited period of time.

Example: Anita makes a specific power of attorney so that her niece can deposit Anita’s pension cheques and pay her bills. The niece only has access to Anita’s bank account, and only until Anita comes home

from her trip.

When does the power of attorney start?

A power of attorney comes into effect as soon as it is signed. However, it does not have to be used immediately. Make sure your attorney knows when you want him or her to act.

When does the power of attorney end?

A specific power of attorney ends when the job it describes is done, i.e., the piece of property is sold, or on the date it says. You can also cancel a power of attorney at any time.

A general power of attorney automatically ends:

• if you become incapable; unless you have an enduring power of attorney clause that makes a power of attorney continue to have effect if you are incapable.
• if your attorney dies; unless you name an alternate or more than one attorney,
• if you die
• if the court appoints “committee” to make decisions for you.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

Power of Attorney © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.