Are you in charge of your own affairs?You may be well organized and have all your financial papers filed and ready to access if something should suddenly happen to you. You may update your will regularly and rest assured that your family is well taken care of. But what would happen if you suddenly became incapacitated? How would your spouse or family access your bank account or take care of your affairs?

You might want to grant a power of attorney to your child to provide for your care as you grow older, or you might want someone to take care of your financial affairs while you take an extended vacation. In any case, a power of attorney is a useful document giving someone the authority to act on your behalf on certain matters.

Now, you can draw up your own power of attorney. This book tells you everything you need to know and provides blank forms for your convenience. Among other things, it answers these questions:

• What is a power of attorney? • What if I want to hand power over for a limited time? • Will my money be safe under a power of attorney? • Can I make arrangements for my Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security cheques? • Is the procedure different depending on the province? • How can I terminate a power of attorney? • How do I write my own power of attorney?

Peter J. Georgas, MASc, JD/MBA graduated from the combined Juris Doctor / Masters of Business Administration program at the University of Toronto and was called to the bar of Ontario in 2017. He also holds a Masters of Applied Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of British Columbia. He is currently practicing as a lawyer in Toronto in corporate and securities law.

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