What is the purpose of a power of attorney?

A power of attorney allows a person to act on your behalf. A power of attorney is for a person of sound mind, whereas a protective mandate is for a person who has lost their faculties.

Are you going on a trip? Do you have to stay at the hospital? Someone can take care of your affairs and administer your property during this time. Your spouse, one of your children or a trusted friend can do it. All you have to do is sign a document known as a power of attorney or mandate.

What should the power of attorney provide for?
A power of attorney allows you to designate a person, called the mandatary, to act on your behalf in certain circumstances. It may provide for a series of acts for which you wish to entrust responsibility to your mandatary. A power of attorney allows you to designate a person, called the mandatary, to act on your behalf in certain circumstances. It may provide for a series of acts for which you wish to entrust responsibility to your mandatary.

If you leave the country for some time, you may allow the mandatary to carry out acts for you that you would normally do yourself. For example, paying your rent or mortgage instalments, making certain banking transactions, renewing your insurance, etc.

It is always best to clearly delineate the powers of the mandatary. You would then be authorizing them to act only for a specific purpose. For example, a mandate may only be for the sale of your property under the conditions you have set. The mandatary must then only perform the acts necessary to achieve this goal.

You can include an accountability clause in a power of attorney.

Do not confuse a power of attorney with a protection mandate in case of incapacity
The power of attorney and the protection mandate in case of incapacity should not be confused. The power of attorney is only intended to temporarily compensate for a person’s physical impossibility to take care of their affairs, for example during an extended stay abroad. In principle, the power of attorney ceases to be valid when the court recognizes your incapacity. The power of attorney may also be revoked at any time by the mandatary.

A protection mandate is a document in which you choose one or more people to take care of you and your property if you are declared incapable by the court.