A power of attorney is an authority given
by one person (the grantor or principal) to another person (the attorney) to
act on behalf of the grantor in conducting his or her financial affairs, or in
making personal care decisions for the grantor. The authority given can be
comprehensive so as to encompass all acts of a financial nature or all types of
personal care decision making, or may be restricted to specific acts or types
of decisions. For example, a financial power of attorney might be limited to
the conduct of banking business or the sale of a specific piece of real estate.
A power of attorney dealing with personal decision making might be limited
to the determination of medical treatment to be administered or withheld. The
attorney so appointed is legally recognized as the agent of the grantor. The
relationship between the grantor and the attorney is governed by the common law
of agency and, in Ontario, by the Substitute
Decisions Act, 1992.1 Any document that purports to give authority over
finances in the event the grantor should subsequently suffer from legal or
mental incapacity or that authorizes personal care decision-making on behalf of
the grantor upon his or her incapacity will fall under the provisions of the
SDA.
By Ryan Carson