Continuing Power of Attorney for Property

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What a continuing power of attorney for property does

A will only works after you die. The years before that can include an illness, a stroke or dementia that leaves you unable to manage your own affairs, and Ontario’s own guidance is blunt about what happens then: without an attorney for property, your family, including your spouse, cannot automatically step in to make financial decisions for you. A continuing power of attorney for property is the document that fills that gap, and it is usually prepared together with your will and a power of attorney for personal care, as part of wills and powers of attorney. The glossary sets out the other terms used here.

The rules are in Part I of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 (SDA). The person who signs it is the grantor. The person you name is called your attorney, a legal term that has nothing to do with being a lawyer; the province’s guidance says your attorney does not have to be a lawyer. Under section 7(2), the document can authorize your attorney to do anything with your property that you could do yourself if you were capable, except make a will. Ontario’s guidance gives examples: paying your bills, collecting money owed to you, maintaining or selling your house, and managing your investments.

The word “continuing” matters. Under section 7(1), a power of attorney for property is continuing only if it says it is, or if it expresses the intention that it can be used during your incapacity to manage property. An older form or a bank’s own power of attorney that lacks that wording may stop working exactly when it is needed most.

How to make one that works, step by step

Check you can sign. Ontario’s guidance says you must be mentally capable and at least 18 to make a power of attorney for property. Section 8(1) lists what capable means here: you know what kind of property you have and its approximate value, you are aware of what you owe your dependants, and you understand what the attorney can do, that they must account to you, that you can revoke the document, and that the authority could be misused.
Choose your attorney, and a backup. Name one person or several. Under section 7(4), two or more attorneys must act jointly unless the document says otherwise. If a joint attorney dies, becomes incapable or resigns, section 7(5) lets the others carry on, unless you say otherwise. A substitute attorney can be named to step in.
Decide when it starts. Ontario’s guidance says your attorney can start making decisions immediately unless you state otherwise. Section 7(7) lets the document come into effect on a set date or when a specified event happens, such as your incapacity.
Add any conditions. Section 7(6) allows conditions and restrictions that fit the Act, such as a requirement to consult a family member or to keep the family cottage.
Sign in front of two witnesses. Section 10(1) requires two witnesses, each of whom signs. Section 10(2) lists who cannot witness (see the table below).
Keep the original where your attorney can reach it. Tell your attorney where it is and give them a copy, so nobody has to search for it in a crisis.

Section 7(7.1) says the document need not be in any particular form, and section 7(8) allows the prescribed form. The province publishes a free kit. The risk with a kit is less the form than what it leaves out, for a business owner especially.

Who cannot witness an Ontario power of attorney for property (SDA s. 10(2)), compared with a will
Person	Witness a continuing power of attorney?	Witness a will?
The attorney you are naming, or their spouse or partner	No	Not barred, but a gift to them or their spouse under the will is void (SLRA s. 12(1))
Your own spouse or partner	No	Not barred, but a gift to them under the will is void (SLRA s. 12(1))
Your child, or a person you treat as your child	No	Not barred, but a gift to them or their spouse under the will is void (SLRA s. 12(1))
A person whose property is under guardianship, or who has a guardian of the person	No	The SLRA sets no specific bar
Anyone under 18	No	The SLRA sets no age rule for witnesses
A neighbour, friend or colleague who is none of the above	Yes	Yes; a gift to them or their spouse under the will would be void (SLRA s. 12(1))

The rules differ from those for wills, set out in what makes a will valid in Ontario, which is why using the same two independent witnesses for all three documents is the simplest approach.

What changes the answer

Signing by video

Section 3.1 of the SDA allows the witnesses to take part by audio-visual communication technology if at least one of them is a licensee of the Law Society of Ontario and the signing and witnessing happen at the same time. The conditions mirror the ones for wills, which we explain in can you sign a will by video in Ontario.

When it comes into effect if you said “on incapacity”

If your document says it starts when you become incapable but does not say how that is decided, section 9(3) sets the method: an assessor’s notice in the prescribed form that you are incapable of managing property, or a certificate of incapacity under the Mental Health Act. Your document can set its own method instead, which is often simpler for the family.

A document signed when capacity was already slipping

Section 9(1) says the document is valid if you were capable of giving it when you signed, even if you were by then incapable of managing your property. That is a lower bar than managing your own affairs. It is not a reason to wait: if there is any doubt about capacity, sign sooner rather than later, and ask a lawyer how to document it.

Several powers of attorney at once

Under section 12(1)(d), signing a new continuing power of attorney ends the old one, unless you say you want multiple continuing powers of attorney. Some business owners use that rule on purpose: one document for personal finances, another for their company shares, each with the right person in charge. Your shares may also be governed by your shareholders’ agreement, so the two need to be read together. Business owners can read more in estate planning for owners of an Ontario corporation.

When it ends

Section 12(1) lists the events that end it: the attorney’s death, incapacity or resignation (unless another attorney or a substitute can act), a court appointing a guardian of property, a new power of attorney (unless you allow several), a revocation, or your death. A revocation must be in writing and signed the same way (section 12(2)). Separation from a spouse you named is not on the list, a point we cover in what happens to your will if you separate.

A document that was not signed properly

Under section 10(4), a power of attorney that misses the witness rules is not effective, although a court can declare it effective if that is in the interests of the grantor or dependants. That means a court application at a hard moment, which proper witnesses avoid.

What your attorney has to do, and can be paid

Once you are incapable, or your attorney has reasonable grounds to believe you are, section 38 applies most of the duties of a court-appointed guardian of property to your attorney. Section 32(1) describes those duties: the attorney is a fiduciary who must act diligently, with honesty and integrity and in good faith, for your benefit. The court can order an attorney’s accounts to be passed under section 42.

Attorneys may take compensation from your property under section 40, in accordance with the fee scale in Ontario Regulation 26/95: 3 per cent on capital and income receipts, 3 per cent on capital and income disbursements, and three-fifths of 1 per cent of the annual average value of the assets as a care and management fee. Your document can say the attorney is to be paid less, or nothing.

Example

For example, imagine Grace, a 68-year-old in Markham, signs a continuing power of attorney naming her son Tom and her daughter Ana as attorneys, with no other wording. Two years later she has a stroke and cannot manage her affairs. Tom lives in Calgary. Because the document names two attorneys and says nothing more, section 7(4) means they must act jointly, so every cheque and every bank instruction needs both of them.

Suppose the document had instead let them act “jointly and severally“, and Ana handled everything for a year. In that year she receives $60,000 of pension and investment income for Grace, pays out $50,000 for Grace’s care and bills, and the assets average $400,000 in value. Under the fee scale she could claim 3 per cent of $60,000 ($1,800), 3 per cent of $50,000 ($1,500) and three-fifths of 1 per cent of $400,000 ($2,400), a total of $5,700, unless Grace’s document set a different amount. A few words in the document, written at the start, decide how the whole arrangement works.

Common mistakes people make

Relying on a bank’s power of attorney form. It may cover only that bank, and may not be continuing. Ontario’s guidance specifically suggests talking to a lawyer if you have given someone power of attorney through your bank.
Using your spouse or child as a witness. Section 10(2) bars them, and the document is then not effective without a court order.
Naming two attorneys without saying how they act. The default is jointly, which can be slow when one lives far away.
Signing a new power of attorney that silently cancels an old one. Section 12(1)(d) does that unless you say you want several.
Including identity or account details. Ontario’s guidance notes the land registration system does not accept powers of attorney containing personal information such as passport or bank account details.
Forgetting the company. If you own a business, check that your attorney can deal with your shares, and that the company’s documents allow it. Our page on estate planning for business owners explains how the pieces fit.

What to do this week

Find any power of attorney you have signed and check that it says “continuing” or that it works during incapacity.
Check who witnessed it against the section 10(2) list.
Decide who you trust with your finances, who would be the backup, and whether they should act together or separately.
Decide whether the document should start now or only on incapacity, and how incapacity would be confirmed.
Make sure you also have a power of attorney for personal care, which covers health and housing decisions.
If you own a company or property outside Ontario, ask about separate documents. A first consultation takes 30 minutes, by video or in person, and you can request one here.

Frequently asked questions

Can my attorney change my will?

No. Section 7(2) lets an attorney do anything with your property that you could do, except make a will. Your attorney also cannot change who inherits under the will you already have.

Does my power of attorney end when I die?

Yes. Section 12(1)(f) ends it on your death. From then on your estate trustee under your will takes over, and may need a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.

What if I never sign one?

Your family may have to go to court to become your guardian of property, or the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee may become involved as a last resort. We explain the process in what happens if you lose capacity without a power of attorney.

Can I name the Public Guardian and Trustee?

Yes, under section 7(3), but only if the Public Guardian and Trustee consents in writing before you sign.

Can my attorney resign?

Yes. Under section 11, if the attorney has already acted, the resignation takes effect only once copies are delivered to you, any other attorneys and any substitute, and in some cases your spouse or partner and relatives in Ontario.

Does it need to be notarized or registered?

No. The SDA requires two witnesses who each sign, not a notary, and it does not set up a registry for powers of attorney. What matters is that your attorney can find the original when it is needed.

Sources

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. It reflects the law as of October 26, 2026.

What is a continuing power of attorney for property in Ontario?