Choosing a Power of Attorney in Ontario: Who Should You Appoint?

Why the Choice Matters More Than the Document

A perfectly drafted Continuing Power of Attorney for Property is worthless in the hands of the wrong person. Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 gives an attorney for property sweeping authority: access to all bank accounts, control over investments, authority to sell real estate, power to pay (or not pay) bills, and the ability to make financial decisions that can't be undone.

The document creates the authority. The person you appoint determines how that authority gets used.

Choosing an Attorney for Property

The property attorney manages money. That's the core of it — every financial decision, from paying a hydro bill to selling a house, falls under their authority. The qualities that matter most:

Financial competence. Your attorney doesn't need to be a CPA, but they need to understand basic financial management: budgeting, paying bills on time, not spending money that isn't theirs. Someone who can't manage their own finances shouldn't be managing yours.

Trustworthiness around money. This sounds obvious, but it's the most common failure point. The person who's great at family dinners might be terrible with boundaries around other people's money. Consider: does this person have a history of debt problems, gambling, or financial instability? Have they ever borrowed money and not paid it back? Do they understand the difference between managing your assets and benefiting from them?

Availability and proximity. An attorney who lives in Vancouver while your bank accounts, real estate, and care facility are all in Ontario will face practical barriers at every step. Banks prefer in-person verification. Real estate transactions require local lawyers. Care facilities want someone who can show up for meetings.

Organizational skills. Under O. Reg. 26/95, the attorney must maintain detailed records of every receipt, disbursement, and investment decision. They may need to file tax returns, coordinate with accountants, deal with the CRA, and produce a formal accounting if anyone requests one. A person who loses receipts and ignores paperwork will struggle with these requirements.

Willingness to serve. Being named as an attorney is not an honour — it's a job. A demanding, time-consuming, legally consequential job that can last years. Ask the person directly whether they're willing to take it on. Don't assume.

Choosing an Attorney for Personal Care

The personal care attorney handles non-financial decisions: medical treatment, housing, nutrition, hygiene, clothing, and safety. The qualities that matter are different from the property side:

Knowledge of your values and wishes. Under the Health Care Consent Act, a substitute decision maker must follow the grantor's prior capable wishes when making treatment decisions. Your personal care attorney needs to know what those wishes are — not just generically ("I want to be comfortable") but specifically ("I don't want to be kept on a ventilator if there's no reasonable chance of recovery").

Emotional resilience. Personal care decisions can be agonizing. Your attorney may need to decide whether to consent to a risky surgery, approve a transfer to palliative care, or authorize the discontinuation of life-sustaining treatment. They need to be able to make these decisions based on your wishes, not their own emotional needs.

Ability to advocate. Hospitals, care facilities, and medical professionals sometimes resist family input. Your attorney needs to be willing to push back — to insist on a second opinion, to challenge a discharge decision, to demand that your wishes are followed even when the medical team disagrees.

Independence from the property attorney. Appointing the same person for both property and personal care is common and often practical. But consider the potential for conflict: the property attorney manages the grantor's finances, while the personal care attorney must follow the grantor's prior capable wishes or act in the grantor's best interests. If these roles are held by different people, there's a natural check and balance.

People You Cannot Appoint

The SDA disqualifies certain people from serving as an attorney:

• Anyone under 18 cannot serve as an attorney for property (the minimum age for personal care is 16)
• Anyone whose own property is under guardianship — they can't manage their own finances, so they can't manage yours
• Anyone under a guardianship order for the person — they can't make their own personal care decisions, so they can't make yours

Beyond the legal disqualifications, you should think carefully before appointing:

• A family member who has an adversarial relationship with other family members (guaranteed conflict over every decision)
• A person who has a financial interest in your incapacity or death (an heir who benefits from reduced care spending)
• A person who lives in another country (cross-border complications with banking, real estate, and health care)
• A person significantly older than you (they may lose capacity before you do)

Professional Alternatives

If no family member or friend is suitable, Ontario allows you to appoint a trust company as attorney for property. Trust companies charge professional management fees, but they provide institutional reliability, professional accounting, and continuity.

You cannot appoint a trust company as attorney for personal care. Personal care decisions require a natural person who knows you and your values.

The Conversation to Have Before You Sign

Before formalizing anyone's appointment, sit down with them and cover:

1. What the role involves. Walk them through the scope of authority, the record-keeping requirements, and the time commitment.
2. Your wishes and values. For personal care: your treatment preferences, end-of-life wishes, and living situation preferences. For property: your financial priorities, charitable commitments, and family obligations.
3. The boundaries. What you don't want them to do — restrictions on selling the family home, limits on investment risk, prohibitions on gifts to themselves or others.
4. Where to find everything. The location of your financial records, bank accounts, insurance policies, real estate documents, and the POA itself. An attorney who can't find the document can't use it.
5. Whether they're willing. Give them a genuine opportunity to decline. Reluctant attorneys make poor fiduciaries.

The Ontario Power of Attorney Kit includes an attorney selection worksheet that walks through these evaluation criteria, plus conversation guides for the pre-appointment discussion and template instructions you can include in the POA document itself.

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