Power of Attorney for Property
About Power of Attorney Property
A Power of Attorney document for property outlines who will make decisions on your behalf when directed to do so, or when you lose mental capacity.
The term POA refers to a legal document, and an “Attorney” (not a lawyer) is the individual you appoint to assume responsibility as outlined in the POA. Attorneys are decision makers not caregivers.
Names for this document vary by province. Power of Attorney for Property is the name used in Ontario. For all other provinces this document is called an Enduring Power of Attorney.
Who you choose as your POA for property is a big decision. Your Attorney for Property has control over important financial matters. As your fiduciary, they have a legal obligation to manage your finances in your best interests.
No other family member, spouse, or other person can step in and manage your legal and financial affairs. Having a Power of Attorney for Property is the legal document that ensures the person who makes important decisions about your finances is your choice. Without a POA, the court can appoint who makes decisions on your behalf and this may not be the person you’d choose.
What kind of authority is granted under a Power of Attorney for Property?
Generally, the POA for property gives the Attorney for Property broad power to allow them to quickly take charge and manage your affairs. This often means gaining full control of finances when you are no longer capable of making financial decisions yourself.
A POA for Property can also provide authority under a Limited POA for property. A “Limited” or “Specific” POA for property exists for a specific amount of time or for a specific task. It ends when the task is complete or on the date specified in the document.
Your Attorney for Property has the authority to:
- Access bank accounts and investments
- Pay bills on your behalf, like property tax, cable, utilities
- File annual income taxes
- Sell real estate on your behalf if required to downsize or move to a retirement residence or long term care facility
- Use your credit cards to manage your household affairs and care needs
How we can help
We're an Alternative to Appointing Family or Friends
Attorneys (individuals operating under a POA), help clients manage their property and financial needs. As a neutral third party, a Professional Attorney for Property can help avoid family conflict and safeguard against fraud or financial abuse.
As a fiduciary, the Financial Concierge™ team holds a position of trust with our clients. Acting under a POA for property we offer the following services:
- Appointed Attorney – Acting as the appointed Attorney we support our clients to manage their financial matters when they no longer can.
- Agent of Attorney – We support the appointed Attorney, usually a family member or friend, as their agent to perform POA duties that require expertise or significant time, and coach them on tasks they choose to perform themselves.
- Appointed as Attorney – We are appointed by the court as Attorney when an individual requires support with their financial affairs and no one has been appointed to do so.
Foundational to our services is the development of our Family Playbook™. It organizes important personal and financial documents and outlines wishes regarding final arrangements in one easy-to-access location. Learn more about our Document Organization services here.
Solutions for Busy Professionals and Families
If you’re a busy professional or busy family with no time to focus on daily money management needs, like banking, bill payments, filing insurance claims and managing a budget, we can help.
Getting a better grasp of daily money management practices helps reduce overall stress, lower debt levels, stop late fees, and a host of other unnecessary risks that impact your financial health and security.
Whether you are away on business, out of country for several months, or simply too busy to manage your finances, we operate with full transparency and provide regular updates and detailed reports on the activities performed on your behalf.
Working with Older Adults
If you are a busy family helping aging parents with financial matters or are an older adult who is aging in place, we can act as agent of the Attorney for Property or can act under a POA Property as your appointed Attorney.
For seniors, management of daily financial obligations can become an overwhelming burden. Without the ongoing help of a loved one or daily money manager, they could be at-risk for unpaid bills, undeposited cheques and the negative consequences of cut-off utilities, bank foreclosures and financial exploitation.
At Financial Concierge™ we’re proud to offer a unique, heartfelt service that fills a much-needed financial service gap for older adults and relief to busy professionals and families who need a trusted concierge to handle their day to day financial matters.
Connect With Us
As a fiduciary, the Financial Concierge™ team holds a position of trust with our clients. We specialize in providing professional executor and power of attorney services, as well as estate administration support.
You can get in touch with us by going to our Contact Us page and using our Contact Us form. We look forward to connecting with you!