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Power of Attorney Deadline
Extended
(July 2000)
by Del Elgersma
Thanks to a recent announcement by the Attorney General, British
Columbians will have another year to make enduring Powers of
Attorney.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows you to appoint
another person, called an "attorney", to manage your
legal and financial affairs. ("Attorney" in this case
does not mean a lawyer as they are referred to in the USA, but
is simply the person to whom you grant the power of attorney)
A regular Power of Attorney automatically becomes void if you
become incapable unless you have added a special clause to the
Power of Attorney. An Enduring Power of Attorney contains a statement
to the effect that the attorney may continue to act on your behalf
if you become mentally incapable. It has been a valuable tool
for disability planning.
The B.C. government had hoped to phase out the creation of new
enduring powers of attorney by September 2000, replacing them
with the new Representation Agreements which are more complex
legal documents that also allow you to appoint a representative
to manage your legal and financial affairs, but also to make
health and personal care decisions for you in the same document.
Unfortunately, because of their complexity, the new Representation
Agreements have been costing our clients a great deal more than
the old Powers of Attorney.
The extension means that new Enduring
Powers of Attorney can
be made until September 2001. Given the
greater simplicity and
familiarity of Powers of Attorney, we
recommend that, before
next September, clients consider making
an Enduring Power of
Attorney for financial matters and a
separate simple Representation
Agreement for health and personal care.
Please call us at your
convenience for more information.
Note: Another extension was announced in
2001, extending the deadline to September
2002.
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