Who can be an Attorney

You can choose anybody as your attorney, so long as they are:

• 19 years or older,
• able to understand the responsibilities involved.

Most people choose their husband, wife, friend, or other family member. You can appoint more than one person. if you do, you must write in the document whether they will act together or individually.

If you name only one attorney, it is very important to name an alternate who will take over if something happens to your attorney. However, you also need to describe very clearly the circumstances when an alternate may take over.

Your attorney will have significant power, so choose somebody you trust, and who is comfortable with financial matters. Take the time to talk with that person about what you want and would expect them to do.

For a fee you can choose a trust company as your attorney. You can also name the Public Guardian and Trustee (a government official).

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

Power of Attorney © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.