What happens if an adult does not have a Power of Attorney?
If an adult in British Columbia becomes unable to manage his or her own legal and financial affairs because of infirmity or mental incapacity and the adult does not have a power of attorney in place there will be no one who can deal with his or her legal and financial affairs. In that case, a family member or other person (in some cases the Public Guardian and Trustee) must apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a guardianship of the incapable adult’s estate. This is a lengthy, time consuming and expensive process that can be avoided by the much less expensive route of signing a power of attorney.
