What is a Representation Agreement (Living Will)?
Our guest author for this post is Flavia Zancope of Zancope Notary Public.
Whether or not it’s nice to admit, aging and accidents are an inevitable part of life. The best one can do is to be prepared, and a little bit of foresight and proactive planning can save one’s family members from having to spend a lot of money to be able to participate on the decision making and to be on the loop of our medical conditions.
Having a Representation Agreement (RA) (sometimes referred to as a Living Will) is one such way to be prepared. When preparing a Will, it is a good idea to prepare your Representation Agreement at the same time.
A Representation Agreement is the name of a document that allows representatives to make health and personal decisions on your behalf, in case you are alive, but cannot speak for yourself. Many people assume that a Power of Attorney (POA) grants those powers. Unfortunately, that is wrong. A POA only grants powers for legal and financial decisions.
With a Representation Agreement, there is no deceased and therefore no estate to divide; it is concerned specifically with medical procedures while the person is still alive.
It provides a way to make provisional medical decisions for oneself in the future. If circumstances leave you unable to communicate your wishes, a Representation Agreement can specify which medical procedures will be authorized or declined on your behalf. The representative appointed will have powers based on what you have given them. These can be full powers or restricted in any way, based on specific wishes.
Though not necessarily required by law, having a notary prepare the Representation Agreement can facilitate the process and ensure that everything conforms to requirements. For important decisions such as this, a notary can help provide peace of mind that everything is in proper order.
We do offer a package deal that saves you money, as we can do both the will and Representation Agreement at the same time. If you already have a Will, not a problem, we can prepare a RA on its own.
This post originally appeared on the Zancope Notary Public website under the title What Is a Representation Agreement, and How Can a British Columbia Notary Help.
About Zancope Notary Public
At Zancope Notary Public, our specialty is Wills and Estate Planning documents (Representation Agreement and Power of Attorney). We are a full-service firm with two notaries full time at the office. We also offer real estate services for clients in Langley and throughout Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. We can help you with buying, selling, and refinancing real estate, and provide family property transfers and independent legal advice.
Disclaimer: Avisar Chartered Professional Accountant’s blog deals with a number of complex issues in a concise manner; it is recommended that accounting, legal or other appropriate professional advice should be sought before acting upon any of the information contained therein. Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this post, no individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this post accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.
