How do I make a power of attorney?
It is a good idea to have a lawyer make or review your power of attorney. But you can also make one on your own.
The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee has a form you can use. To get a paper copy, call 1-800-366-0335. For TTY, call 416-314-2687. For an online copy, visit ontario.ca/OPGT.
CLEO’s Guided Pathways has a free tool to help you make or cancel a power of attorney. Visit stepstojustice.ca/GP-POA.
To make a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property, the document must be called a Continuing Power of Attorney.Or, you must write in the document that it gives your attorney power to continue acting for you if you become incapable.
When your power of attorney starts working
Your Continuing Power of Attorney normally starts working when you and your witnesses sign it.
You and your attorney can manage your property while you are mentally capable. If you become incapable, your attorney does this on their own.
For it to start working only if you become mentally incapable, you must say this in your power of attorney. If you do that, a capacity assessor must decide if you are mentally incapable, unless you name someone else to assess you.
Your attorney could also start managing your property if you
are a patient in a psychiatric facility and a doctor finds you mentally incapable.
Choose your witnesses
You must have 2 witnesses who see you sign your power of attorney. They must sign it as well and usually need to be with you when you sign.
If you cannot all be in the same place, there are special rules about signing remotely. Talk to a lawyer about how this works.
Your witnesses cannot be:
- your spouse or partner, your child, or someone you treat as your child, or
- your attorney or their spouse or partner, or
- anyone who is under the age of 18.
As well, a person cannot be a witness if they have a Guardian of Property, a Statutory Guardian, or a Guardian of the Person.
Your spouse is someone you are married to.
If you are not married, they are your spouse if you live in a conjugal relationship, which means it is like a marriage. And you also:
- have lived together for at least one year, or
- have lived together for less than one year and have a child together, or
- have a cohabitation agreement, which is a contract that says how unmarried partners will deal with issues.
Your partner is someone you have been living with for at least one year. And you have a close personal relationship that is most important to both of you.
Spouse and partner can have different meanings in other areas of law.
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