Life can change overnight. 2 families share what people should know about power of attorney

When Dr. Mary Jarratt's brother, Billy Jarratt, asked in 2018 if he could designate her as power of attorney in the event something should happen to him, she thought little of it. 

Billy's wife had just died, so while updating his will, he also needed to designate someone new to make medical and financial decisions for him should he no longer be able to do so himself.

"Billy was the last person that you'd ever would have thought would become disabled," Mary told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC Radio's White Coat, Black Art.

"Billy led a very active life. He had a very good job. He'd been with the senior management of the town of Oromocto [N.B.] for 32 years … worked out at the gym every day."

But in January 2023, at the age of 58, he had a massive hemispheric stroke that left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak.

Mary is a family physician from Saint John, N.B. — and therefore familiar with power of attorney situations — but she says she still underestimated what's involved. Now she's calling for more awareness of the topic and easier access to resources for Canadians to help them make informed decisions about power of attorney, and to help them prepare to take over if needed.

The laws that govern power of attorney (POA) vary depending on your province or territory, as does some of the terminology. In New Brunswick, where the Jarratts live, the process is guided by the Enduring Powers of Attorney Act that came into effect in 2020.

You might assign a power of attorney for a short period when you need someone to take care of a financial matter while you're out of the province. An enduring power of attorney, on the other hand, is what's required for an ongoing situation such as Billy's. 

There are two types of enduring power of attorneys — an attorney for personal care, who makes decisions on your health care, and an attorney for property, for financial matters. These duties can be assigned separately. If it's the same person, however, it can be taken care of with one form in New Brunswick. 

Mary Jarratt said that when it became clear that Billy was going to survive his stroke, it was time for her to start to try to take charge.

"Billy owns a house, he has a son in school, two [adult] stepchildren that were living with him at the time," she said. "Lots of bills and various responsibilities."

Their biggest mistake, according to Mary? Billy had not given his sister a copy of his will and power of attorney. Without those documents, she couldn't proceed with the crucial work she needed to do. His lawyer had retired and had not kept copies of his client's files.

Initially they found a copy, said Mary, but for privacy and fraud-prevention reasons, the bank needed originals in order for her to access his accounts. 

Once those were found, the next major hurdle was the utility bills. "The challenge with that today is that everything's electronic," she said.