One critical item you cannot do when you are someone's Power of Attorney (POA). . .

Eventually, life can take a turn and suddenly you are no longer able to look after your own finances or even, do not want to. Often this is when a well-structured Power of Attorney (POA) document comes into play. I say well-structured for a reason. You should make sure that you are consulting a lawyer to word your POA document in the way you want your wishes executed when you are no longer able to look after your financial issues or otherwise.

One thing you cannot do as a POA is appoint beneficiaries to ANY account for the person you are acting for. If you deal with me for your investments, you know that I will advise at all times to ensure you have beneficiaries appointed on all accounts and or assets joint with a SPOUSE only. (this latter item is a topic for another blog) When you have beneficiaries appointed on all accounts, your assets/investments will bypass probate. In Saskatchewan, these assets are still reported if probate documents are required but they are NOT probatable. Banks and trust companies are unable to appoint beneficiaries for you on any non-registered accounts. As your independant advisor, I do have access to being able to appoint beneficiaries on non-registered accounts. If you invest with me, all of your investment accounts should have beneficiary appointments.

My suggestion is this. If you or a loved one, or someone you know, has assets at a bank or trust company in a non-registered account, it may be in your and their best interest to move those accounts to someone like me and we can explore options to appoint your beneficiaries on these assets as well. We can do so by opening an investment/non-registered account with an insurance company and deposit a small amount into that account, appoint your beneficiaries and leave the account open for future use. By doing this, you have an investment account, that has your wishes aligned and beneficairies appointed, and your POA can move funds into this account as needed or necessary. The owner of an account is the only person who can appoint beneficiaries. A POA can 'move funds around' as per the POA document, but they cannot appoint beneficiaries. I say that in quotations because of course there are limits with different accounts and also in some cases, tax issues. I always watch these situations also.

It would be prudent to do this same strategy with TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs and any other accounts where you, as the owner, can appoint your designations as you wish. When new deposits are made to certain accounts, some companies require new paperwork to be submitted. In the cases of TFSAs, RRSPs, and RRIFs beneficiaries can be appointed, and if you invest with me non-registered accounts can have beneficiaries appointed as well. Once the accounts are set up, your wishes for who gets what funds at your passing is set up as well and probate can be avoided. 

Estate planning happens at all stages of life. If you have questions, let's chat. 🙂

~ Dawn

** these concepts are different for each individual. No one solution fits all clients. It is best to consult with an advisor who can help you determine the right solution for you.