Many people assume capacity is a single switch that is either on or off. The law is more subtle, and that subtlety is why planning early matters.
Under Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act, capacity is assessed in relation to a particular decision and a particular time. A person may have capacity for some decisions and not others. Broadly, it turns on whether the person can understand the relevant information and appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision.
You can only grant a power of attorney while you still have capacity to do so. Once capacity is lost without a valid POA in place, your family may have to apply for guardianship, a slower, more expensive and more intrusive process overseen by the court and the Public Guardian and Trustee.
Sound incapacity planning, the right powers of attorney, clear wishes, and coordination with your will, lets the people you trust step in smoothly, instead of fighting the system in a crisis.
Immigration, family, corporate or cross-border. We will tell you honestly what can be done, and what cannot.
Book a Consultation很多人以为“行为能力”是一个非开即关的开关。法律其实更精细，而正是这种精细，决定了为何要尽早规划。
根据安省《替代决策法(Substitute Decisions Act)》，行为能力是针对某一具体决定、某一具体时点来评估的。一个人可能对某些决定有能力、对另一些没有。大体上，取决于此人能否理解相关信息、并领会一项决定可合理预见的后果。
你只能在仍具备相应能力时授予授权书。一旦在没有有效授权书的情况下丧失能力，你的家人可能不得不申请“监护(guardianship)”，那是一个更慢、更贵、也更具侵入性的程序，由法院与“公共监护与受托人办公室(PGT)”监督。
稳妥的“丧失能力规划”，恰当的授权书、清晰的意愿、与遗嘱的协调，能让你信任的人顺畅地接手，而不是在危机中与制度角力。