Four Options For Choosing An Executor Or Attorney by Rod Rattray, Certified Executor Advisor
and continues until all estate matters are settled, which, in Canada, takes an average of two years. Selecting an Attorney and Executor needs careful and thorough consideration. These roles require skills, knowledge, patience, a calm temperament and the ability to cooperate with others. It’s a critical decision that causes many people to neglect writing their Will and Power of Attorney documents. This leads to long, expensive delays in provincial court, meaning your family and beneficiaries will wait much longer to receive your gifts, which are reduced by added estate expenses. Here are four options for appointing an Executor for your Will and an Attorney for your Power of Attorney documents. The first option is not really an option, as you must appoint someone. Avoidance leads to long, expensive delays. Someone would need to apply to the provincial court with legal assistance to be appointed as an Attorney or Executor of your affairs. Applicants could be anyone, even someone you do not want. If the Court decides, it could appoint the Public Guardian and Trustee. In any appointment, the person appointed will be bound to follow provincial guidelines because no Will or Power of Attorney documents exist to state your wishes. The second and most common option for appointing an Executor or Attorney is a spouse, child, sibling or well- known friend. Many people used to consider being asked a tremendous honour. While the person appointed
People spend a lifetime managing their financial affairs. We buy and sell property, houses and vehicles. We negotiate loans and mortgages and work to pay them off. We try to save and make investment decisions to prepare ourselves for a comfortable retirement. Right up until someone passes away, many people try to be diligent and careful stewards of money and possessions. Why then, do at least half of Canadians neglect the vital step of having a valid Will and Power of Attorney? A Power of Attorney for Property authorizes someone else to act on your behalf and manage your financial and property affairs, such as banking, paying bills, and even arranging home maintenance if you are unable to do so. A Power of Attorney for Personal Care authorizes someone else to make medical decisions on your behalf, such as treatments, prescriptions, and even end-of-life decisions if you are unable to do so. In both cases, the authority of these Attorneys ends when you pass away. A Will is your written instructions and wishes for what happens to your ‘stuff’ after you pass away. Your wishes are carried out by someone you appoint, called an Executor. The Executor’s authority only begins after you pass away
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Page 10 Boomers and Beyond – Elgin • October 2025
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