What if there are no relatives in Canada to help me when my spouse dies?

Written by admin on October 31, 2014

1. Supposing that there is a couple with no relatives in Canada and the last person gets senile or both, who will come to look after them—is it the Public Trustee? I mean in the case that one of them still lives in their own home, but is not able to make decisions about their welfare alone.

If an adult starts to lose mental capacity to manage his or her affairs, and is no longer able to meet the legal test for capacity to grant an Enduring Power of Attorney, the adult may be able to make a Representation Agreement for routine financial management (Representation Agreement Section 7) so someone can assist them. However, if the adult has no trusted person to appoint as a representative or as a monitor, the Public Guardian and Trustee may become Committee of Estate for the adult in order to manage the adult’s legal and financial affairs.

The Public Guardian and Trustee will become involved only if the adult requires assistance in decision making and has no one else suitable, willing and able to assist the adult.

CATHERINE ROMANKO, Public Guardian and Trustee

RESOURCES

Committeeship (Kaw-mi-TAY-ship) is a term used in British Columbia to refer to adult guardianship. Read the Nidus fact sheet on Adult Guardianship. It explains how the Public Guardian and Trustee may become Committee of Estate or how someone can apply to be a private Committee through the court.

Read more about the Representation Agreement Section 7 (RA7),  Caring for an Older Adult.
You can name a friend as a representative—it does not have to be a family member.

Nidus partnered with BC Courthouse Libraries to raise awareness about BC’s essential legal planning documents and the Nidus Registry. The kick off event was held on September 15th at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch with a panel of experts in the field. Questions that were submitted will be answered in a series of posts by Nidus and various panel members. To see photos from the event click Gallery; and click Registry Sing-a-long for the fun of it!