The Key to Protecting Your Final Wishes
Your Will and Powers of Attorney for Personal Care and Property (POAs) are valuable documents that ensure your final wishes are followed and provide peace of mind to you and your loved ones. Keeping these documents in a safe place will prevent stress for your loved ones and reduce the risk of your wishes being overlooked.
Will
It is crucial that your estate trustee(s) is informed where your Will is and that they are authorized to access it after your death. This will ensure that your estate is administered in a timely manner, according to your wishes.
Under section 15 of the Succession Law Reform Act, a Will is revoked when a new one is created or if the original is destroyed with the intent to revoke it. If your most up-to-date Will cannot be located, it may be assumed that you destroyed it intentionally to revoke it. This can create confusion, and your loved ones may not be able to carry out your wishes.
To avoid confusion after your death, it is important to store your Will in a safe place, inform your estate trustee(s) of its location, and ensure they have the necessary access to retrieve it, wherever it is kept.
Some places you might store your Will include:
Wherever you choose to store it, be sure to inform your loved ones where it can be found after your passing.
Powers of Attorney
Executing POAs ensure that your wishes are followed if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. If you are no longer capable of making decisions, it is important that your attorney(s) can easily locate your POAs. Quick access to these documents will allow your attorney(s) to act promptly and in accordance with your wishes at the time of your incapacity.
A delay in accessing these important documents may lead to your wishes not being followed. If your Power of Attorney for Personal Care cannot be located, healthcare providers will follow the substitute decision makers hierarchy under the Ontario Health Care Consent Act. The person authorized as the automatic substitute decision maker under this Act may not be the person you would have chosen to make personal care or healthcare decisions on your behalf.
Places to store your POAs include:
You may also choose to provide a copy of your POAs directly to your attorney(s), so they can store in a safe place until these documents are needed.
If you complete your POAs at Daniel & Partners LLP, we prepare three copies of each POA. We can retain two copies of each POA on your behalf and provide you with one to take home for your convenience.
Conclusion
The Lawyers at Daniel and Partner’s LLP can assist you with drafting a Will and POAs. Once these important documents are finalized, finding the perfect place to store these can be challenging. To ensure these documents do not get lost, you have the option to have Daniel & Partners LLP store them after signing.
If you are in need of a Will and/or POAs, contact us today!