A power of attorney is a document that appoints another person, called an "attorney," to make financial and legal decisions for you. An enduring power of attorney allows your attorney to make financial and legal decisions for you if you become mentally incapable because of accident or illness. But your attorney can't make health care decisions for you. To deal with health care decisions, you can make what is called a representation agreement.

Good starting points include:

• Enduring Power of Attorney  fact sheet and the Representation Agreement Overview, from Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry, provide an overview of these two tools, including information on how you can register these with the Nidus Registry. 
• Power of Attorney and Representation Agreements, from the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, provides an overview of what a power of attorney and a representation agreement can do and when you might want to use them.
• LSLAP Manual: Guardianship, from the UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program, has a detailed section on power of attorney, including enduring power of attorney. It also has a section on representation agreements.

Once you have created these personal planning documents, you can register them with the Nidus Personal Planning Registry.The Registry is an efficient tool for organizing your information and for communicating your wishes if you are incapable of doing so yourself.

See our related common questions:

• How can I help a person who cannot manage their own affairs?
• See all common questions about health
• See all common questions about personal planning

tags

power of attorney, enduring power of attorney, representation agreement, planning for your future, living will