Powers of Attorney Act changes Dec 2010

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives another person authority to act on your behalf during your lifetime. The person giving power of attorney is called the donor, while the person given power of attorney is called the attorney. You can appoint one or more attorneys. Click here to learn more about Power of Attorney.

A recent change to Nova Scotia’s Powers of Attorney Act, in force as of 10 December 2010, deals with joint powers of attorney under an enduring power of attorney. An enduring power of attorney is a type of power of attorney that continues to be effective if the donor becomes mentally incompetent. The change to the law specifies that where there are joint attorneys, if one or more of the attorneys:

• dies;
• gives up the appointment;
• is legally incapacitated;
• is unwilling to act; or
• cannot be found after reasonable attempts are made to locate them, 

the remaining attorney(s) can continue to act on the donor’s behalf. Click here to read the text of the change.