Protect Your Elderly Parents. Lynne Butler

real property and personal property. Most of these documents give a blanket authority so that the attorney can do anything that the relative can legally do with his or her property, subject to certain restrictions. Because the document was signed by the relative at a time when he or she had mental capacity, the document reflects the elderly person’s wishes about how he or she wants his or her property dealt with while alive.

      The kind of decision that may be made by an attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney roughly corresponds with decisions that can be made by a court-appointed trustee. In other words, the attorney can make decisions about money, sale or rental of real estate, or payment of bills, but he or she has no authority to make any decisions about health or medical care.

      Again, as with the Health Care Directive, if the document is not already in place and your elderly relative has lost his or her ability to understand legal documents, it is too late to have an Enduring Power of Attorney signed.

      8. Temporary Guardianship and Trusteeship

      The laws in some parts of Canada specifically say that a person can be appointed by the court as a guardian or trustee of another adult on a temporary basis. In other words, the court order is only intended to be in effect while some specific situation is dealt with, after which the dependent adult resumes control of his or her own affairs.

      Generally speaking, a temporary guardianship or trusteeship is not particularly helpful when the person who needs a guardian or trustee is an aging relative. The incapacity that accompanies aging is rarely temporary in nature. If a temporary order were to be obtained, it is quite likely that you would find yourself renewing that temporary order or applying later on to the court for a permanent order. Therefore, this book will not go into detail about the procedures to be followed to apply for a temporary order.

      9. An Important Note about Wills

      Confusion often arises when well-intentioned individuals who want to look after elderly relatives find out that they are named as executor in the relative’s will. These individuals then believe that they have a legal right to deal with the relative’s assets while the relative is still alive. This is not the case. A will gives no power to anyone until the person who signed the will is deceased.