CLIENT TALK
January, 2003
REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS
In February of 2000 the Representation Agreement Act was finally proclaimed.
This Act revolutionized our way of dealing with elderly people, but
it can be applied to any age group.
For decades powers of attorney were prepared. This document enabled
you to appoint someone to take care of your financial matters. If properly
drawn, it survived your incapacity, so that your appointed “Attorney”
was able to pay your bills, deal with your assets and investments, and
generally take care of your finances after you became incapable of managing
these matters on your own behalf.
The Representation Agreement Act was drafted to take the place of the
Power of Attorney Act. The advantage of a representation agreement is
that it enables you to appoint someone (your “Representative”)
to not only take care of your financial matters, but also to deal with
two other important areas:
Personal Care:
In a representation agreement you outline the responsibilities with
respect to your personal care that you are giving your Representative.
Normally the Representative is given the authority to assist you in
making decisions with respect to where you live, what type of home support
you will receive and other day to day decisions. If your Representative
decides that you are no longer able to make those decisions, then the
Representative will make them for you, taking into consideration your
wishes and your best interests.
Health Care:
You instruct your Representative as to the type of health treatment
that you would like in certain situations. For example, if you are terminally
ill or you are in a coma, then your Representative is required to obtain
for you, or refuse on your behalf, medical treatment as you have outlined
in the representation agreement. For example, you can state that you
do not wish to be resuscitated, that you do not wish to be placed on
a life support system and so on.
Representation agreements are very important documents. They enable
you to decide who will take care of you when you need help. They also
enable you to decide what type of health care you will receive in certain
situations. This relieves your family of the responsibility of making
those decisions for you and avoids disputes amongst your children as
to such medical treatment. It relieves them of the responsibility and
ensures that you are treated the way you want to be treated.
We believe that representation agreements are one of the most important
documents that you can prepare. They are fairly complicated and take
some time to draft, but they are well worth the time and effort. It
gives you peace of mind, knowing that your representative will be there
for you and that you will be treated in the manner you desire, with
someone that you know and trust making such decisions for you.
We would be pleased to discuss representation agreements with you.
We believe that they are a necessary planning tool for everyone. Please
make an appointment to see us if you require further information or
wish to enter into a representation agreement.
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The opinion(s) expressed in this article may not be shared by the Law Corporation and is the opinion(s) of the author. This article is not intended to substitute for the advice of a lawyer. Please consult a lawyer regarding any legal issues you may have.
Shook, Wickham, Bishop & Field
906 Island Highway, Campbell River, B.C., V9W
2C3
Tel: (250) 287-8355
Fax: (250) 287-8112
Email: wickham@crlawyers.ca
