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Power of Attorney for Personal Care

A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a legal document that lets someone make decisions about your health and personal care. This person is called your attorney.

Read about giving someone power to make decisions about property in Continuing Power of Attorney for Property.

Read about making a will to say who gets your property when you die.

When does my Power of Attorney for Personal Care start working?

It starts working when you’re no longer mentally capable of making some or all decisions about your health and personal care.

You’re mentally capable of making a decision about your health and personal care when you understand:

  • the information you need to make the decision, and
  • what could happen if you do or do not make the decision.

You may be capable of making some decisions and not others. For example, you might be able to decide about your bathing and getting dressed but not about where you live. Your attorney can only make decisions that you’re not capable of making.

Should I make a Power of Attorney for Personal Care?

When you’re no longer capable of making decisions about your health or personal care, someone must make them for you. This is your substitute decision-maker (SDM).

If you have a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, your attorney is your SDM, unless a court chooses someone else.

Decisions about personal care

Usually, your attorney decides if you’re mentally capable to make decisions about your personal care. This is true unless you say something else in your power of attorney.

Decisions about personal care include where you live, what you eat, what you wear, your washing and bathing, and keeping you safe.

If you do not have a Power of Attorney for Personal Care

You might not have a power of attorney and not be mentally capable of making some or all decisions about your personal care. If this happens:

  • someone could go to court and ask to become your Guardian of the Person, or
  • you might still be able to make a power of attorney if you’re mentally capable of doing that.

Decisions about health care

Your SDM for health care makes most health-care decisions that you’re not capable of making, including decisions about:

  • medical treatment,
  • moving to a long-term care home, and
  • personal care services in a long-term care home or a retirement home.

If you’re not mentally capable, health-care providers like doctors or nurse practitioners must get the informed consent of your SDM before treating you.

To give informed consent, your SDM must have the information they need to decide about the treatment, like its risks and benefits. Then they can agree to you having the treatment.

Who can be your SDM

Who gets to be your SDM for health care is based on this order:

  1. your Guardian of the Person
  2. your attorney for personal care
  3. someone appointed by the Consent and Capacity Board
  4. your spouse or partner (see Spouse or partner for more information)
  5. your parent or your child
  6. your brother, sister, or other sibling
  7. any other relative
  8. the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee

Your SDM must be 16 years of age or older and capable of and willing to make decisions for you.

There cannot be a court order or separation agreement banning them from being your SDM or from being in contact with you.

Advance care plans

You can put your wishes about your health and personal care in your power of attorney. These are called advance care plans.

Your wishes might be to:

  • stay in your own home as long as possible
  • follow your religious practices related to food
  • let or not let doctors use artificial life support

Your wishes are for your attorney or SDM to follow, not doctors or medical staff.

If your wishes change, put them in writing or tell someone. Your SDM or attorney must follow the most recent wishes you made while you were mentally capable.

Your attorney or SDM must make decisions based on what’s in your best interests if:

  • they do not know your wishes, or
  • it’s impossible to follow them.

To figure out your best interests, they must think about your values and beliefs, and any risks and benefits to what they do.

Can I make a power of attorney?

You must be 16 years of age or older and mentally capable of making a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. This means that you understand:

  • whether your attorney is truly concerned about how you live and are taken care of, and
  • that you may need this person to make decisions for you.

You must make the power of attorney without anyone forcing you or telling you that you must make one to get medical care.

For it to be legal, you must sign it while you’re capable of making a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

Who can be my attorney?

Your attorney can be a family member, a close friend, or anyone else you trust. Think about who will:

  • be there when you need them
  • understand your wishes
  • be able to make difficult decisions based on what they think you would want

Your attorney for personal care must be 16 years of age or older and mentally capable of making personal care decisions for you.

They cannot be paid to give you health care or certain other services unless they’re your spouse, partner, or family member.

Spouse or partner

Your spouse is someone you’re married to.

If you’re not married, they’re your spouse if you live in a conjugal relationship, which means it’s like a marriage, and you:

  • have lived together for at least one year, or
  • have lived together for less than one year but have a child together, or
  • have a cohabitation agreement, which is a contract that says how unmarried partners will deal with issues.

A partner is someone you’ve been living with for at least one year. And you have a close personal relationship that’s most important to both of you.

Can I name more than one attorney?

Yes. But they all must agree on a decision. To change this, you can write in your power of attorney that they can decide together or on their own.

You can also name one or more substitute attorneys. They act if your other attorney or attorneys cannot.

How do I make a power of attorney?

You can make a Power of Attorney for Personal Care using:

  • a lawyer. This will cost you money but the lawyer will make sure that your power of attorney follows the law.
  • CLEO’s Guided Pathway, which is a free tool that helps you make or cancel a power of attorney.
  • a government form. Call 1-800-366-0335. For TTY, call 416-314-2687. Or visit ontario.ca/OPGT.

Or you can use a form from the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee. To get a copy, call 1-800-366-0335. For TTY, call 416-314-2687. Or visit ontario.ca/OPGT.

CLEO’s Guided Pathways has a tool to help you make or cancel a power of attorney. Visit stepstojustice.ca/GP-POA.

Some banks have their own rules about powers of attorney. It’s important to make sure that your bank will accept your Power of Attorney for Property.

If you decide to use a form from the bank, it usually deals with only the money and property you have at that bank. And it might end any earlier power of attorney you have.

Before you decide what wishes to put in your Power of Attorney for Personal Care, talk to your health-care providers about:

  • health problems you have now and might have in the future, and
  • how to explain your wishes about having treatment.

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.

Your witnesses cannot be:

  • your spouse or partner, your child, or someone you treat as your child
  • your attorney or their spouse or partner
  • someone who’s 17 years old or younger
  • anyone who has a Guardian of Property, a Statutory Guardian, or a Guardian of the Person.

When does my power of attorney end?

It ends when you die. It also ends when your attorney dies, resigns, or is no longer capable of making personal care decisions for you. This is true unless you have more than one attorney or a substitute.

And it ends when:

  • a court appoints a Guardian of the Person for you,
  • you make a new one while you’re mentally capable of doing that, unless the new one says something else, or
  • you cancel or revoke it while you’re mentally capable.

Can I cancel my power of attorney?

If you’re mentally capable of making a power of attorney, you can cancel or revoke it. There’s no special form for this. You write what’s called a revocation and say:

“I revoke my Power of Attorney for Personal Care that is dated [month, day, year] and effective immediately.”

Sign and witness this as you did your power of attorney.

If you make a new power of attorney, all earlier ones are cancelled. If you do not want this to happen, talk to a lawyer.

Getting legal help

If you have a low income, some community legal clinics may be able to give you free advice about powers of attorney or help you make one. To find the clinic near you, visit legalaid.on.ca/legal-clinics. Or call 1-800-668-8258. For TTY, call 711.

The Law Society Referral Service gives you the name of a lawyer you can speak to for up to 30 minutes for free. Visit findlegalhelp.ca.

Pro Bono Ontario’s legal advice hotline can give you up to 30 minutes of free legal advice. Call 1-855-255-7256. Visit probonoontario.org.

JusticeNet is a non-profit organization that can connect you with a lawyer who charges reduced fees. Visit justicenet.ca.

There are also places like Axess Law that charge lower fees for services like creating a power of attorney. Visit axesslaw.com.