A new Powers of Attorney Act came into effect in Saskatchewan on April 1, 2003. In light of the new legislation, and decisions pronounced by the courts, anyone signing a Power of Attorney should be aware of the following:
1. If a spouse is named Power of Attorney, the spouse can take all of the property of the person granting the appointment. If one desires that this not occur, then it is necessary to add the following clause to a Power of Attorney: “the attorney may not make an election that benefits himself/herself or that makes himself/herself a beneficiary".
2. If more than one Power of Attorney is appointed, it is necessary to indicate whether or not the attorneys are to act jointly (both must sign), severally (either may sign), or successively (if the first cannot act, the second shall act).
3. If the appointment is joint, decisions must be unanimous. If your attorneys are appointed jointly, a surviving attorney may act if the other attorney dies, or indicates in writing that he/she is unwilling or unable to act, or is found by a court to lack proper capacity.
4. Your attorney may charge a fee, however, if a fee is charged, your attorney must provide the Court of Queen’s Bench with an annual accounting.
5. The person granting the Power of Attorney may request an accounting, and, if that person does not have the capacity to request an accounting, an accounting may be requested by one of the grantor’s adult family
members. The person granting the Power of Attorney may indicate, in writing, to whom an accounting is to be provided.
6. A Power of Attorney ends:
i) upon the death of the Power of Attorney ( Note - upon the death of the grantor of the Power of Attorney, the executor or court appointed administrator looks after the estate and not the Power of Attorney);
ii) upon the mental incompetence of the Power of Attorney;
iii) upon the resignation of the Power of Attorney;
iv) upon the court appointing a property guardian.
