Power of Attorney Signing Requirements New Brunswick

Two Different Standards for Two Different EPAs

New Brunswick applies different execution rules depending on whether the enduring power of attorney covers property or personal care. Getting the signing wrong invalidates the document — and you typically won't discover the problem until you try to use it during a crisis.

Property EPA Signing Requirements

Any EPA that grants authority over finances, bank accounts, investments, or real estate must be executed in the presence of a practicing lawyer who is a member of the Law Society of New Brunswick. The lawyer's obligations include:

1. Reviewing the provisions of the EPA with the grantor before signing
2. Witnessing the grantor's signature (the grantor must sign and date the document in the lawyer's presence)
3. Signing a capacity certificate confirming that the grantor appeared to understand the nature and effect of the document

If the grantor is physically unable to sign, another adult may sign on the grantor's behalf — but only in the grantor's presence, at the grantor's explicit direction, and that person cannot be the named attorney or the attorney's spouse, common-law partner, or child.

Personal Care EPA Signing Requirements

A standalone Personal Care EPA (one with no property authority) has a lighter standard. The grantor can sign it in the presence of either:

• A practicing New Brunswick lawyer, or
• Two independent adult witnesses

Each witness must be at least 19 years old, must not be named as an attorney in the document, and cannot be the spouse or child of a named attorney. Both witnesses must be present simultaneously — the grantor cannot sign in front of one witness on Monday and the other on Tuesday.

Combined Documents

Most families create a single combined EPA covering both property and personal care. Because the document includes property powers, the lawyer requirement applies to the entire thing. The lighter personal-care-only standard is only available when the document genuinely contains no financial authority whatsoever.

Remote Signing Rules

New Brunswick permanently authorized remote execution in December 2022. An EPA can be signed via live audiovisual communication if:

• The process happens through synchronous video technology (not phone-only, not pre-recorded)
• At least one witness is a practicing lawyer
• The document is signed in counterpart — identical paper copies are signed by the grantor and the lawyer in their respective locations
• The final document includes a written statement confirming it was executed electronically under Section 4.1 of the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act

This option is particularly useful for families where the aging parent lives in rural New Brunswick and the nearest lawyer is a long drive away, or where the grantor has mobility limitations that make an office visit difficult.

Who Cannot Witness

The Act explicitly disqualifies certain people from serving as witnesses to a Personal Care EPA:

• Anyone named as an attorney in the document
• The spouse or common-law partner of a named attorney
• A child of a named attorney

For a Property EPA, the question is moot — the sole witness must be a lawyer, and the lawyer should obviously not be named as the attorney.

A less obvious disqualification: the Act prohibits paid health or support service providers from being named as attorneys (unless they are a spouse, common-law partner, or close relative). While this is a restriction on who can serve as attorney rather than who can witness, families sometimes conflate the two rules and assume a home care aide can't witness. An aide can witness a Personal Care EPA — they just can't be the named attorney in it (unless they're related to the grantor).

Common Signing Mistakes That Invalidate the Document

Using an out-of-province lawyer. The lawyer must be a practicing member of the Law Society of New Brunswick. A lawyer licensed only in Ontario, Nova Scotia, or Quebec does not satisfy the requirement, even if they are physically present in New Brunswick.

Having only one witness for a Personal Care EPA. Two are required. A single witness, no matter how independent and credible, makes the document defective.

Signing the document before the meeting. The grantor must sign during the witnessing session — not beforehand. A pre-signed document presented to a lawyer for certification is not validly executed.

Joint donor EPAs. Two parents cannot create a single joint EPA. Each person must have their own separate document with their own execution ceremony. A joint EPA is legally invalid, and banks routinely reject them.

Missing the date. The document must be dated on the day of signing. A missing date creates ambiguity about when the EPA was created and whether a later revocation supersedes it.

The New Brunswick Power of Attorney Kit includes a signing-day checklist that walks through each of these requirements — so nothing gets missed during the execution meeting and the document is valid on the first attempt.

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