Powers of Attorney in Ontario: getting them signed properly

Most families arrive at this subject the same way. A parent has a fall, or a diagnosis arrives, or a bank asks a question nobody can answer — and suddenly the adult children are reading about Powers of Attorney on a Sunday evening.

The documents themselves are not complicated. What catches people out is the signing. Ontario has specific rules about who may witness a Power of Attorney, and the people most likely to be in the room are usually the very people the law disqualifies. A Power of Attorney witnessed by the wrong person may be invalid — and families typically discover this at the worst possible moment, standing at a bank counter when the document is finally needed.

Here is what the two documents do, who can witness them, and how to get the signing right the first time.

The two documents

Continuing Power of Attorney for Property

This covers money and property: bank accounts, bills, investments, the sale of a home, dealings with government benefits. The word continuing is the important part — it means the authority continues if the person granting it later becomes mentally incapable. A Power of Attorney for Property that is not expressed as continuing ends at exactly the moment it becomes most necessary.

It can take effect immediately, or be drafted to take effect only on incapacity. Both approaches are used, and the right one depends on circumstances that are a matter for legal advice rather than notarial practice.

Power of Attorney for Personal Care

This covers decisions about health care, housing, nutrition, hygiene, safety and clothing. People often call it a "healthcare power of attorney," which is a fair description, though Ontario's legislation calls it personal care. It takes effect only when the person is no longer capable of making the particular decision themselves.

The two documents are separate. The same person can be appointed under both, or different people can be chosen for each — some families appoint the financially minded child for property and the one who lives closest for personal care.

The witness rules — where it usually goes wrong

Each Power of Attorney requires two witnesses. Both must be present at the moment of signing, and both must then sign the document themselves. Signing the documents and circulating them afterwards for signatures does not satisfy the requirement.

Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act disqualifies the following people from acting as witnesses:

Read that list against a typical family gathering and the problem becomes obvious. If a mother is appointing her son, then the son cannot witness, his spouse cannot witness, every one of her children is disqualified, and her husband is disqualified. The entire family is ruled out.

The practical solution is almost always the same: two neighbours, two friends, or two colleagues — adults with no stake in the arrangement. They do not need to read the documents or understand their contents. They need only be present, watch the signature happen, and sign to confirm it.

The Affidavit of Execution

After the documents are signed and witnessed, one of the witnesses typically swears an Affidavit of Execution before a notary public or commissioner. In it, the witness states that they were present and saw the grantor sign.

This affidavit is not strictly required by statute, but as a practical matter it is close to essential. Banks, investment firms and other institutions routinely want proof that a Power of Attorney was properly executed before they will act on it, and the affidavit is that proof. Attaching one at the time of signing costs very little; obtaining one years later, when a witness has moved or died, can be extremely difficult.

Worth knowing: the Powers of Attorney themselves are not notarized. Ontario law requires signatures and two witnesses, not a notarial seal. The notarial act is the affidavit — and, usually, the certification of true copies.

Certified copies — the step families forget

Once the documents exist, they will need to be shown to people. A bank will want to see the Power of Attorney for Property. A second financial institution will want its own copy. A hospital or long-term care home will want the Personal Care document on file.

Handing over the original each time is risky, and most institutions prefer to retain a copy. A notary can certify copies as true copies of the original, which institutions will generally accept in place of the original. Preparing two or three certified copies of each document at the signing appointment saves a great deal of difficulty later.

A note on pressure

Powers of Attorney hand significant authority to another person, often at a point when the grantor is vulnerable. For that reason it is normal practice for a notary to spend a few minutes with the person signing, privately, before the documents are executed — simply to confirm that they understand what they are granting and are doing so freely.

This is not an accusation directed at anyone. It is a routine safeguard, and a family acting in good faith has nothing to find difficult about it. It also protects the document: a Power of Attorney executed with proper safeguards is far harder to challenge later.

In short

1. Prepare both documents fully, and leave the signatures blank.
2. Arrange two witnesses who are not the attorney, not a spouse, and not a child.
3. Sign with both witnesses in the room, and have them sign too.
4. Have one witness swear an Affidavit of Execution.
5. Take certified copies for each institution that will need one.

Done in that order, the whole appointment usually takes about an hour — and the documents will be accepted when they are eventually needed, which is the entire point of doing it carefully.

This article is general information about Ontario practice, current as at October 2026. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice about your own circumstances.