A Last Will and Testament ensures that your estate, including your home, is administered in accordance with your wishes and that adequate provisions are made for dependants and loved ones. It also allows you to select the Executor who will administer your estate. In Ontario, dying without executing a properly drafted will prevents you from having any control over who should administer your estate or care for your children while they are underage. Furthermore, as a will can minimize taxes and probate fees, your estate may incur additional costs without one.
Why is a Power of Attorney Important?
There are two types of Powers of Attorney: A Power of Attorney for Personal Care and a Power of Attorney for Property.
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care allows you to designate someone who will make decsions on your behalf with respect to your medical treatment and overall personal care if you are not mentally capable of making those decisions yourself. A Power of Attorney for Property is similar to one for personal care, only it deals with decisions involving your real and/or personal property, as well as the financial management of your assets.
In Ontario, if you become mentally incapable and have not completed a Power of Attorney, the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee of Ontario will generally designate on your behalf your closest relative to make your decisions for you, whether or not that person would have been who you wanted.
Mike Stavrakis
Barister & Solicitor, Notary Public
50 Gervais Drive, Suite 505
Toronto, ON
M3C 1Z3
T: 416-446-0340
F: 416-441-0811
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