This week at Wise Law Blog, we are exploring Powers of Attorney for Care, and end-of-life care decisions, generally. Join us as Simran Bakshi, Student-at-Law, considers a the questions and concerns around appointing an Attorney for Care and completing an Ontario Power of Attorney for Care document.There may come a time when you are no longer capable of making key decisions regarding your medical treatment. In such circumstances, it becomes necessary for a substitute decision-maker to step in to make personal care decisions on your behalf.
In order to preserve your autonomy to make such choices, it
is imperative to set out your wishes well ahead of time and to appoint a
suitable individual to carry out these decisions. The means by which to do this in Ontario is by executing
a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.
A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is a legal document
that allows you to name someone you trust to make your personal care decisions
when you are no longer in a position to do so yourself. In Ontario ,
an individual must be appointed as your Attorney for Care in order to act as
your substitute-decision maker. In the event that you do not have an Attorney
for Care, your next of kin or the Public Guardian Trustee will make any
decisions required with respect to your medical treatment. This substitute decision-maker will be
designated in accordance with a hierarchy set out in the Health Care Consent Act.
In addition to conferring someone with the authority to act
on your behalf, a Power of Attorney for Personal Care provides an opportunity
to list any specific instructions, conditions and/or restrictions that you may
have with respect to what personal care decisions are ultimately taken. While this is in essence similar to a "Living Will," it is
important to appreciate that a Power of Attorney for Personal Care is not the
same thing. The distinction between the two lies in the purpose of each.
The objective of a Power of Attorney for Personal Care is to
appoint an individual to act as a decision-maker for personal care
decisions. While an Attorney for Care
may be directed in reaching such decisions by written instructions included in
the Power of Attorney for Personal Care, the focus of this document remains on
the question of who is named the
substitute decision-maker. Accordingly,
an Attorney for Care will still have the authority to make a choice even if you
have not expressed your wishes regarding medical treatment.
By contrast, a Living Will is a document that sets out your
instructions with respect to possible personal care decisions that may need to
be taken in the future. The focus of a
Living Will is on content, that is,
what are your treatment and personal care wishes. It does not necessarily name
the individual who will carry out such decisions. Needless to say, the degree
of overlap is such that a Living Will may well be an inherent part of any
well-executed Power of Attorney for Personal Care.
It was once said, “Let our advance worrying become advance
thinking and planning.” A Power of Attorney for Personal Care is instrumental
in transforming your worries and concerns into planning for your end-of-life
care.
- Simran Bakshi, Student-at-Law, Toronto
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