Three B.C. Documents to Sign While You’re Healthy

The document most people think they have

A lot of people believe that if they’ve signed a power of attorney, someone they trust can step in if they ever lose the ability to manage their own affairs. In B.C., that depends on which kind they signed.

The B.C. government’s page on substitute decision-making says it in one line: “A power of attorney ends if you become mentally incapable.” Clicklaw, a B.C. public legal information site, says the same thing. A general power of attorney “ends automatically if you become mentally incapable or die.”

So the ordinary version stops working at the exact moment you’d need it. To carry on past that point, it has to be an ENDURING power of attorney.

And even that only covers money and legal matters. Your health care and personal care need separate documents. In B.C. there are three planning documents in all: the enduring power of attorney, the representation agreement and the advance directive. Every one of them has to be made while you’re still capable of making it.

I’ll be upfront: I haven’t done mine yet. My cousin talked to me about this directly, sent me some information, and said the advance directive, the health care one, is one of the most useful things you can put in place. I agree. I just haven’t got to it. The information my cousin sent included a copy of Five Wishes, a planning form from Aging with Dignity, an American non-profit. Because it’s American, it won’t do the legal job in B.C. But its questions about how comfortable you want to be, how you want people to treat you and what you want your family to know are a good way to think through your wishes before you make the B.C. documents.

Who this is for

Anyone in B.C. who has a will but nothing else, like me. Anyone who signed a power of attorney years ago and isn’t sure which kind it is. And anyone who travels for long periods and leaves things at home in someone else’s hands.

A quick note: I’m not a lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. What follows is what the B.C. government, the Public Guardian and Trustee and Clicklaw say about these documents, as of October 2026. For your own situation, talk to a lawyer or a notary.

Document one: the enduring power of attorney

An enduring power of attorney lets you appoint someone you trust, called your attorney, to manage your legal and financial affairs. B.C.’s Public Guardian and Trustee (the PGT) is clear about the limit: “An EPOA can only deal with your legal and financial affairs.” It can’t make health care decisions for you.

The PGT and the B.C. government set out the rules for making one:

• You must be 19 or older and understand the nature and consequences of appointing an attorney.
• It must be in writing. It has to say whether your attorney can act right away or only once you’re incapable, and that their authority continues if you become mentally incapable.
• You and your attorney both sign in front of two witnesses, in person or virtually. One witness is enough if that witness is a B.C. lawyer or notary.
• Your attorney can’t be a witness, and neither can their spouse, child or parent.
• If the document covers real estate, the witness must be a lawyer or notary.

The B.C. government has a free Enduring Power of Attorney form on its incapacity planning page. Clicklaw notes you don’t have to use it.

Document two: the representation agreement

A representation agreement names someone, your representative, to help with or make decisions about your personal care and health care. It comes from B.C.’s Representation Agreement Act, and there are two kinds, named after the sections of the Act they come from.

A section 7 agreement uses standard powers. The B.C. government lists them as personal care, health care, routine management of your financial affairs and legal services. Clicklaw explains that under section 8 of the Act, you can make one even if you can’t make a contract or make decisions on your own. If you use it for finances, the PGT says you must also appoint a monitor (someone who can review what your representative does) unless you appoint two representatives who must act together.

A section 9 agreement goes further on health. The PGT says it “covers all personal and health care decisions, including refusing health care that would preserve your life.” It doesn’t cover finances. To make one, you have to understand the nature and consequences of the agreement when you sign it. No monitor is required.

Both kinds need two witnesses, or one if the witness is a B.C. lawyer or notary. Your representative can’t be a witness, and neither can their spouse, child or parent. A section 7 agreement also comes with certificates to complete, such as ones for the representative, the monitor and the witnesses.

Now, if you have both a section 7 agreement covering routine finances and an enduring power of attorney, and they conflict, Clicklaw says the enduring power of attorney takes priority.

Free forms for both kinds are on the B.C. government’s site, and Nidus (more on them below) has its own free versions.

Document three: the advance directive

An advance directive is the one where you speak for yourself. The B.C. government describes it as “a written instruction made by a capable adult that gives or refuses consent to health care.” Nobody is appointed. Your instructions go straight to the health care providers treating you.

The PGT sets out the rules:

• It only addresses health care decisions.
• You must be 19 or older and capable of understanding what the document is and what it does.
• It’s signed and witnessed by two people over 19, or by one witness who is a B.C. lawyer or notary.
• A witness can’t be someone paid to provide you with personal care, health care or financial services.

If the legal requirements aren’t met, the PGT says the document “will not be legally binding,” but it will still be respected as your wishes made while you were capable.

How does it fit with a representation agreement? The PGT’s page on health care consent sets out the order a health care provider follows. A court-appointed committee comes first. Then your representative, if your agreement covers the decision. Then a valid advance directive. The Ministry of Health’s free My Voice guide walks you through advance care planning, with tools for writing down your wishes.

What happens if you have none of them

Someone still makes the decisions. You just don’t get to choose who.

For health care, the provider picks a “temporary substitute decision maker” from a ranked list. The PGT lists it in this order: your spouse, your child, your parent, your brother or sister, your grandparent, your grandchild, anyone else related to you by birth or adoption, a close friend, then someone related to you by marriage. That person has to be 19 or older, have been in contact with you in the past 12 months and have no dispute with you. If nobody qualifies, the PGT steps in.

For money, there’s no list. Clicklaw says that without an enduring power of attorney, someone may have to apply to the B.C. Supreme Court to be appointed your “committee of estate”, usually a spouse or other family member. It also says an enduring power of attorney “costs much less than going to court to appoint a committee.” The PGT can be appointed too, and it calls committeeship “the most intrusive option” for dealing with an adult’s financial affairs.

Why people leave them too late

In 2024, Ipsos surveyed just over 3,000 Canadians for the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Seventy-seven per cent said they were thinking about their future health care wishes. Only 17% had an advance care plan. Almost half didn’t know where to find information or advice. The research also pointed to a common assumption that loved ones already know what you’d want.

And it isn’t only health care. A 2025 Scotiatrust survey of Canadians over 50 with at least $500,000 in investable assets found that 41% didn’t have a power of attorney for their finances.

Well, here’s the catch with waiting. Every one of these documents has to be made while you’re capable of understanding it. The law presumes you’re capable, so a diagnosis doesn’t automatically mean it’s too late. But a stroke, a fall or an accident can end it overnight. The time to sign them is while you’re healthy and nothing is pushing you. So don’t leave it to chance: if you haven’t started on these, start now.

If you travel for months at a time

Because an enduring power of attorney has to say whether your attorney can act right away, you can choose to have it take effect immediately. That’s one way someone at home can deal with your bank or a property matter while you’re away for months, whether you’re doing a long road trip or staying a month or more in one place.

These are B.C. documents, though. If you’ll be spending long periods outside the province, ask your lawyer or notary how they’d be treated where you’re going. And if you live in another province, its documents and rules are different, so look up your own province’s version.

What it costs

The forms are free, from the B.C. government and from Nidus. The government says capable adults can name a representative or make an advance directive without visiting a lawyer or notary. Clicklaw’s advice on representation agreements is that you don’t need a lawyer, “but it is advisable to use a lawyer who specializes in this area of law because it’s complex.”

If you do use a professional, here’s one example of what it can cost. One Vancouver law firm’s published fee schedule (updated May 2026) lists $300 for an enduring power of attorney and $500 for a standard representation agreement or an advance directive. A package of a will, an enduring power of attorney and a representation agreement or advance directive is $1,100 for one person, or $2,000 for a couple done together, before tax.

That’s a single firm’s prices, as of October 2026, and fees vary a lot between lawyers, notaries and regions. Treat it as an estimate and ask for a quote before you book.

Who to call

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t pretend to be. For advice on your own documents, see a lawyer or a B.C. notary. Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry is a registered charity with free representation agreement forms, plain-language information and an optional registry for your planning documents. You can reach them toll free at 1-877-267-5552. The Public Guardian and Trustee’s “Personal planning tools” page compares all three documents side by side. I keep these on the Resources page too.

Try this

• Find any power of attorney you’ve signed and look for wording that says it continues if you become mentally incapable. If it isn’t there, you likely have the ordinary kind, so ask a lawyer or notary to check it.
• Ask the person you’d want as your attorney or representative whether they’re willing, and who your backup would be.
• Download the My Voice guide and read it with whoever would be speaking for you.
• If you’re planning a long trip next year, put these on your list before your travel insurance.

One optional next step

Pick a quiet afternoon this week and sit down with the person you’d most want making decisions for you. Talk through two things: who looks after the money, and what you’d want if you couldn’t speak for yourself in a hospital. Write down what you agree on, even roughly.

I’m writing this with my own still to do, so consider it my reminder as much as yours.

Then book the appointment, or download the forms. A few hours now saves the people you love a lot of guesswork later. You’ll be glad it’s done!

Sources: Government of British Columbia, Substitute Decision-Making and Incapacity Planning · Government of British Columbia, Incapacity planning (forms) · Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, Personal planning tools · Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, Consent to health care and the role of the PGT · Clicklaw Wikibooks, Powers of Attorney and Representation Agreements · Clicklaw Wikibooks, Enduring Power of Attorney · HealthLink BC, Advance care planning (My Voice guide) · Government of British Columbia, Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry · Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre and Registry · Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and Ipsos, advance care planning research (October 2024) · Scotiabank, Scotiatrust Wills and Estate Planning Survey (February 2025) · UH Law Corporation, estate planning fee schedule (May 2026) · Aging with Dignity, Five Wishes. Last verified October 28, 2026. Laws, forms and fees change, so confirm current details before you rely on them. This is general information, not legal advice.