Powers of Attorney Program

Powers of Attorney accepted by The Public Trustee

• Who qualifies for assistance?
• Services offered
• Fees charged
• Process required to sign Power of Attorney
• Cancellation of Power of Attorney
• Standards of service

Who qualifies for assistance?

The Public Trustee is interested in helping you manage your financial affairs if there is no one else you would like to do this for you.

Trust companies also provide this service and may be willing to accept your business. If you have assets that are valued at $250,000.00 or more, please contact a trust company first for their assistance. They are listed in the Yellow Pages under Trust Companies.

If your assets are valued at less than $250,000.00 or you cannot get a trust company to act for you, then perhaps The Public Trustee can help.

Services offered

The service we will provide to you is:

• operation of an account into which your cash will be deposited
• receipt of income for you (such as CPP, OAS, private pensions)
• payment of all your bills and other financial obligations like rent, mortgage payments and property taxes
• interest paid monthly on your account at a fluctuating rate that is higher than interest paid on a bank savings account
• at your request, managing your home for you or helping you sell it
• at your request, filing your income tax returns

Fees charged

You will be charged fees every three months. They are calculated on the amount of money you have on deposit, and on transactions in and out of your account as they occur. If we provide additional services such as income tax preparation, home management or inspection, additional fees will be charged. For more information on fees, see our Fee Schedule.

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Process required to sign Power of Attorney

If you want The Public Trustee to act for you, you can expect a lawyer to meet with you to explain the process and how it will operate. The lawyer will witness your signature on the Power of Attorney.

You will need to provide The Public Trustee with a cheque to cover the lawyer's fees prior to meeting with the lawyer.

You will be asked to give an Enduring Power of Attorney, which means that if you become incompetent to make decisions at some time in the future, the Power of Attorney will remain in force.

Cancellation of Power of Attorney

You can revoke a Power of Attorney at any time when you are competent. Please note that if you decide to revoke the Power of Attorney you have given The Public Trustee, we may refuse to be re-appointed at a later date. As well, we can decide that it is no longer feasible to act as your attorney if you are competent and would inform you of that and return all funds to you with an accounting.

Standards of service

The Public Trustee will assign a client administration officer to handle your affairs. Your administration officer, or his or her assistant, will:

• Meet with you at least once a year. The first meeting will take place shortly after you sign the Power of Attorney.
• Return telephone calls by the next business day. The Public Trustee reserves the right to limit the number of calls returned to you to three per week.
• Deposit cheques for personal needs to your bank account, or forward them directly to you. We reserve the right to limit the number of cheques provided to you to one per week.
• At your request, deliver cash to you, not more than once per week.
• Answer correspondence within five business days of receipt.
• Pay bills and invoices, when funds permit, within ten business days of receipt.
• Provide financial statements to you every six months, or upon request, every four months.
• Prepare an inventory of your belongings upon your request, or when you move to different accommodations.

If you require additional services beyond those listed above, The Public Trustee reserves the right to charge additional fees.

You will be asked to turn over all financial matters to us. If you think that you may have been taken advantage of and would like to recover money from another party, you can meet with one of our lawyers to discuss this. There is an hourly fee charged for this service.

For more information please contact our office.

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