Who’ll take care of me if I have an accident

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A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a critical part of your estate planning.

It allows a trusted person to make decisions on your behalf when you do not have the capacity to do so.

I realize that “personal-care decisions” sounds more like hair and nails, and all that! And there is certainly an element of caring for the personal aspects of someone’s life, but it is much more than that!

Nuffin’s gonna ‘arm us.

I’m as bad as anyone. We feel invincible and nothing serious will ever happen to us, but…. occasionally an accident or a serious illness occurs, and it could leave us incapable of making personal-care decisions.

From my experience, most clients consider a Power of Attorney for Personal care to be used when/if a life-or-death decision needs to be made, such as to refuse or accept life support. However, it is also used for many other important decisions based on our wellbeing, such as housing and personal care.

An attorney decides where you will live, what you will eat and if you need caregivers. They will also understand your medicines and treatments. Based on your original requirements, they will decide how you dress, how often you see your friends, how often you exercise, and yes, how often you get a haircut. You can even tell them that you want your parting on the left, not the right!

That’s why it is an important position and why you must choose your attorney carefully. They must be:

  1. Someone you trust and who will act with your best interests in mind,
  2. free of conflicts of interests which may prevent them from acting according to your wishes, and
  3. must be familiar with your wishes and have the strength to be your steward (when you cannot).

As real as it gets!

Early in 2020, I received a frantic call from Anne (not her real name) explaining that her best friend Jane (also not her real name) had suffered a brain aneurysm and was now in a coma. Anne was extremely concerned about Jane’s health and was horrified to learn that she was chosen to be Anne’s Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

Anne said, “but we never talked about this issue and I have no idea what Jane wanted me to do, I guess Jane thought it would never happen to her. Now what?”

This article provides a general overview of the responsibilities under the Power of an Attorney for Personal Care and why we must select wisely. Please recognize that I’m not providing legal advice, nor am I covering Power of Attorney for Property.

What is a Power of Attorney for Personal Care in Ontario?

In non-legal terms, a Power of Attorney for Personal Care gives Anne the authority to make personal-care decisions in the event Jane becomes incapable. As she did after her brain aneurysm.

Based on this scenario in Ontario, Anne is now called the “attorney” and is responsible for making decisions on behalf of Jane, for the following1:

  1. Healthcare,
  2. housing, and
  3. other aspects of Jane’s personal life, such as meals and clothing.

From my experience, clients see attorneys as these high-powered individuals striding around a courtroom, akin to Al Pacino as he shouts “this whole courtroom is out of order” in his 1979 movie, …And justice for all. But the reality is very different.

For one, in this situation, an attorney isn’t necessarily a trained lawyer. It can be a family member or even a trusted friend, or friends.

In fact, many people understand that the role of “attorney” is just to make life or death decisions (i.e. accepting or refusing medical treatments). But the truth is, it is a great responsibility for an individual with many finer nuances. For example:

  • The attorney must decide where Jane lives: at home or in an institution.
  • What Jane eats (consideration must be given to special diets).
  • If Jane should receive caregivers (if at home): how many, how often and their responsibilities.
  • Jane’s clothing, personal hygiene, haircuts, outings etc.
  • An understanding of Jane’s drugs, treatments, and procedures.
  • A list of Jane’s personal and professional contacts, including doctors and medical professionals.

Do I need a Power of Attorney for Personal Care?

I can only speak for myself, but I strongly believe that selecting a Power of Attorney for Personal Care is an essential part of your estate planning. Here’s what I would discuss with my attorney:

Housing

For me, I’d like to stay in my home for as long as possible and hire caregivers to provide the necessary care, until a point where my health is suffering or it is dangerous for my health to be left alone.

Food

Since I don’t have religious considerations, my diet can be prepared according to the Canadian Food guide’s recommendations. With my daily Double Double of course.

Life support

I refuse artificial life support if I’m terminally ill or mentally incapable of returning to a normal life.

Personal hygiene

Ideally, I’d expect appropriate care for hair (every three weeks), clothing (business casual wear), outings (daily walks if possible), seeing friends (weekly, if possible) etc.

Wherever possible, it’s important to select an attorney without conflicts of interest. For example, if your beneficiary is selected as your attorney, they may be incentivised to minimize the cost of your care to maximize the value of your estate, which isn’t good for you. At the end of the day, you’ve earned your daily Double Double, but a beneficiary may not see it that way.

In fact, it is important to keep beneficiaries separate from attorneys and executors.

Also, it’s best to appoint someone who lives in Canada and ideally in Ontario. The attorney must respond quickly, monitor how you’re doing and make sure your needs are met, which could be difficult if they’re abroad or in Vancouver, for example.

— — Your attorney must be someone you can trust and someone who will act in your best interest at the appropriate time — —

What if I don’t have one of these contracts?

If you become incapable of making health decisions and don’t have a Power Of Attorney for Personal Care, the Health Care Consent Act determines who can make decisions, in this order2:

  • Your spouse or partner.
  • Your parent, or your child if they are at least 16 years of age.
  • Your brother or sister.
  • Any other relative.
  • The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee.

If you’re estranged from your spouse or family, it could become a difficult situation. More specifically, it could become a difficult situation that you have absolutely no effect upon! This is exactly why you need a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

Who can be an Attorney for Personal Care?

It’s a very flexible contract. You can appoint one attorney or a group of attorneys to manage your personal care, but you must decide if they are to act jointly and agree on every decision, or if they may act jointly and separately.

You can also appoint substitute attorneys in case one can’t act as your attorney at the time, or doesn’t want to act when they need to.

The person or persons must be mentally capable and be at least 16 years old to be made a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

So, is this just a form from the Post Office?

You can complete a power of attorney document yourself for free or have a lawyer do it. To create the document yourself, you can either3:

The decision to use a lawyer or not comes down to personal choice and how comfortable you are with these documents. Obviously, there is a fee if you ask a lawyer to draft the document. Also, if you appoint your lawyer as your Power of Attorney for Personal Care, there will be a fee drawn from the estate for his/her services.

Care doesn’t come for free

I love and care for many people, and I’d do anything for them, but many aspects of the role of Power of Attorney for Personal Care, must be covered financially by the estate of said person. As the attorney, it is critical that you know that any care needs can be covered by the estate. You don’t need to know how much they have in the bank or whether they have a villa in Jamaica, but you do need to know that costs can be covered.

Likewise, it’s important to ensure that your wellbeing can be covered. This might be via your employers insurance (or previous employer if you’re permanently incapacitated). Or your own individual health, life, disability or long-term care insurance policy. Make sure to have these documents kept in a safe place for your attorneys.

It is likely that a separate Power of Attorney has been appointed to look after the financial needs of the individual. So it’s important that you know this person and periodically liaise with them to ensure that you can continue your role in a manner befitting the individual.

Final thoughts

Selecting a trusted attorney is often the last topic most people discuss, obviously it’s not a happy or uplifting topic, but accidents can happen, and some accidents (or illnesses) are so serious that they leave us incapable of making personal-care decisions (temporarily or permanently).

For me, I have already selected someone as my attorney. I feel comfortable knowing that I have selected a person I trust, who will act in my best interest, and we have discussed my wishes. It’s one less thing to worry about as I enter a new chapter of my life.

Have you selected your Power of Attorney for Personal Care yet? The team at Dri Financial Group are always available to discuss all aspects of estate planning, including insurance policies. If you’re unsure about this contract or simply what to catch up on your planning, feel free to reach out to our team at any time.

In fact, if you have any goal in mind — big or small — that requires some financial planning, but you’re struggling with where to start, reach out to our team. We have the expertise and life experiences to help guide you to achieving your goals.

Contact us today to learn more about the options available to you. CLICK HERE.

Learn more:

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Dri Financial Group’s proprietary Wealth Navigator Process is designed with you in mind.

Its structured framework helps you make an informed decision and feel confident in our team and management practices before we get started.

We offer you a range of services from creating bespoke financial plans and providing investment advice to helping you take advantage of our investment models. If you would like more information on the Wealth Navigator Process or our team, call me any time at 416.355.6370 or email me at richard.dri@scotiawealth.com.
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1 https://www.ontario.ca/page/make-power-attorney
2 https://www.cleo.on.ca/en/publications/power/what-if-i-do-not-have-power-attorney-personal-care
3 https://www.ontario.ca/page/make-power-attorney

source https://richarddri.ca/wholl-take-care-of-me-if-i-have-an-accident/

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