Personal Planning

A Will ensures your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes at your passing.

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What is a Will?

A Will is a legal document that states your final wishes and how you want to distribute your assets. It encompasses essential information such as naming your Executor – the person responsible for carrying out your wishes, Guardian – the person(s) responsible for raising your children, Beneficiaries – the people intended to inherit your estate; along with other key details such as gifting of pets, specific gifts, and desired funeral arrangements.  

Even if you do not have significant assets, it is essential to have a Will. Without a Will, the B.C. court will determine who will be your administrator of your estate and who is to raise your children. Rather than having your wishes honored, you will leave it up to legislation to determine who will inherit your estate. Having a Will allows you to name an Executor to be accountable for ensuring your wishes are honored and will be accountable for wrapping up your estate by filing the necessary paperwork, attending to the arrangement of your burial/cremation, paying your final bills, organizing and liquidating your assets, and being accountable to beneficiaries by distributing your estate according to your documented wishes.

Having a Will in place provides guidance for your loved ones you leave behind, by giving them specific instructions of your wishes. It allows you, rather than legislation decide what happens to your assets when you pass away. Leaving your affairs in order can eliminate stress and anxiety of your loved ones.
 

Do I need a Will?

If you pass away without a Will, it may not only create delays in the administration of your estate but it results in legislation determining who will inherit your estate. It can create a lot of uncertainty and result in a lot of stress and anxiety for your loved ones you leave behind. Without a Will, the Court will appoint an Administrator of your estate, who you may not be the one handling your affairs. This also applies to the appointment of a Guardian for your children. The Court will appoint a Guardian for your children which can cause disputes between family members. Whether your estate is simple or complex, having a Will in place ensures your affairs are left in good order and provides cost savings benefits. It also enables you to discuss advantageous personal planning goals with the Notary to reduce taxes paid at passing.
 

Changes to your Will / Codicil

It is always recommended to review your Will every five years or with major life changes such as marriage, divorce, children, deaths in the family or changes in the value of your estate. As long as you are mentally capable, changes to your Will can be easily accommodated. If our office wrote your original Will we can assist you in making requested changes either through a re-write of the Will or a Codicil. 

A Codicil is an amendment to the Will that is attached to the original Will. In order to do a Codicil to a Will, our office must have prepared the original Will. A Codicil can be done to change the Executor or Guardian. However, if you are needing any further changes, such as changing the beneficiaries in your Will or leaving a specific gift of real estate, this would be accomplished through a re-write of your Will. 

A Power of Attorney appoints a person to handle your financial and legal affairs in the event you become incapable.

 

What is a Power of Attorney?

A Power of Attorney (POA) is the appointment of a person(s) to handle your financial and legal affairs in the event you may become incapable or unable to do so. This person appointed is called the “Attorney” and should be someone who you trust explicitly as you are giving them the ability to have full access to your bank accounts enabling them to pay bills, deposit money, withdraw money, invest money and even sell your property. Essentially, anything you can do financially – your Attorney would be able to do. Typically, our office prepares Enduring POAs which continues or ‘endures’ to be effective if you later become mentally incapable of handing your own financial affairs. However, our office can also prepare special POAs for specific purposes such as authorizing someone to be responsible for continuing the sale of your home if you are on a vacation. Please note that our office can only prepare POAs to be used in British Columbia.

A POA can prove to be a very useful document in the future to sell real estate. As an example: John and Jane have been married for 50 years. They own their home jointly. If something happens to John such as an aneurism, stroke, or dementia and they can no longer remain in their home and need to sell to downsize or go to a care facility; Jane would not be able to sell the home without a POA. Despite being joint tenants on title and spouses for over 50 years, they would not be able to sell because John is not mentally capable. Jane may need to sell the home in order to pay for the care facility. Therefore, at this point Jane’s option would be to wait until John passes away or she could go apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a Committeeship which is extremely costly and time consuming.  

As with all estate documents, including a Power of Attorney, the person making the POA must be fully mentally capable without question in order to have the document prepared by the Notary. 
 

Who should I appoint as my Attorney?

The person who you are appointing as your Attorney should be someone you trust completely. As the POA is a very powerful document, you have to be confident that the person you have appointed will always look after your best interests. You can appoint one person or multiple people. When appointing more than one person, you have the ability to have them act as follows:
 

• In Order of Priority: whereby Attorney 1 will be the only one to act however if Attorney 1 dies, becomes incapable or unwilling then Attorney 2 will be next in line to act. 

• Separately: where either of the Attorneys may act separately not needing the consent of the other to act but keeping each other informed of what they are doing.

• Jointly: where both Attorneys must act together for everything and neither can act alone. 
   

The Attorney(s) you appoint must sign the POA in front of the Notary. They can attend the signing appointment with you or may attend our office for signing at a later date. Your Attorney will be responsible for obtaining the original POA from you to bring into their signing appointment. 

A Representation Agreement appoints a person to make decisions regarding your personal and medical care including end of life decisions in the event you become incapable. 

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Representation Agreement

A Representation Agreement is a legal document that appoints a person(s) ‘Representatives’ to make health care and personal decisions if you become unable to make or communicate those decisions. There are two types of Representation Agreements:

• Section 9 Enhanced Representation Agreement

• Section 7 Representation Agreement

 

What is a Section 9 Enhanced Representation Agreement?

A Section 9 Enhanced Representation Agreement grants extensive powers to your legally appointed person to manage your health care and personal affairs if you become incapable. You can authorize your Representative to do anything that your Representative considers necessary in relation to your personal care and health care. This includes allowing your Representative to give or refuse consent to health care necessary to sustain life; make arrangements for the care or education of your children, pets, or others you support or care for; and even interfere with your religious affairs. 

Some examples of the powers you can grant to your Representative include the following:
 

• Decide where you live, and with whom, including whether you live in a care facility;

• Decide if you should work, the type of work you can do, choose your employer, or retire

• Decide what kinds of educational, social, vocational or other activities you should participate in

• Decide if you should have contact or associate with another person

• Decide if you should drive or apply for any licence, permit or approval

• Decide on day to day decisions, including what you should eat or wear

• Decide if you should be physically restrained, moved or managed

• Give or refuse consent to health care- including end of life decisions

 

What is a Section 7 Representation Agreement?

A Section 7 Representation Agreement is typically used for people who are not fully mentally capable. It differs from a Section 9 because it only allows your Representative to make routine financial management decisions, personal care decisions and some health care decisions.  

A Representative can only help you with routine decisions over your legal, financial, personal and health care needs. Unlike the Section 9, your Representative cannot make decisions to refuse life support or life-prolonging medical interventions for you. They cannot make decisions about where you should live and whether you may need to live in a care facility, and they are unable to physically restrain, move or manage you or authorize another person to do these things.

Some examples of the powers you can grant to your Representative include the following:
 

• Obtain legal services for you

• pay your bills

• deal with your personal care

• deposit pension & other income for you

• purchase food, accommodation and other services necessary for your personal care

• make investments

• make a wide range of health care decisions with you or for you
   

What do I do once I have completed my Representation Agreement with your office?

We recommend to share your executed Representation Agreement with your family physician, oncologist, specialists or other medical professionals so that they may make a copy of your Agreement and keep a note in their files. It is also recommended to inform your immediate family members, friends or assisted living residence that you have prepared a Representation Agreement so that they can instruct any paramedic or physician accordingly if called upon. 

It is imperative to let your Representative know where the original Agreement is located, and recommended that the Representative has a copy of the Agreement. We recommend to keep this document easily accessible in case of an emergency. First responders know to look for these documents on your fridge. 

An Advance Directive is your written instructions regarding the types and levels of health care that you do or do not wish to receive if you become incapable of communicating your wishes to a health care professional. 

 

Advance Directive

An Advance Directive is your written instructions on different types of medical treatment you may consent to, or refuse, in the event you are incapable or unable to give instructions at the time of health care is needed. It allows you to state your decisions about accepting or refusing health care treatments, including life support or life-prolonging medical interventions directly to a health care provider.

Because your Advance Directive will provide your written instructions to health care providers, no one will be asked to make the health care decision on your behalf, as long as it is clearly stated within your directive. 

It is highly recommended to frequently review your Advance Directive as your views may change over time or there may be advances in medical technology that may change your instructions. As long as you are capable, you can change your Advance Directive at any time. If you have done a Representation Agreement, it is critical to share your Advance Directive with your Representative. You should review the wishes you wrote in your Advance Directive including any specific instructions you have for your Representative. 
 

What do I do once I have completed my Advance Directive with your office?

We recommend to share your executed Advance Directive with your family physician, oncologist, specialists or other medical professionals so that they may make a copy of your Agreement and keep a note in their files. It is also recommended to inform your immediate family members, friends or assisted living residence that you have prepared an Advance Directive so that they can share your wishes with first responders or physicians, who will act according to the instructions in your Directive. 

It is imperative to share your Advance Directive with your Representative so that they clearly understand your wishes as they may be the one carrying out your instructions if you are incapable or unable to express your desired health care treatment. Your Representative should know where the original is located, and should also retain a copy for reference. We recommend to keep this document easily accessible in case of an emergency. First responders know to look for these documents on your fridge.