2. Learn what can happen if you don’t have a Power of Attorney

Making a Power of Attorney for Personal Care lets you choose someone you trust to make decisions about your personal care. They’ll do this if you become mentally incapable in the future. This person is called your attorney. Your attorney will be your substitute decision-maker (SDM).

Decisions about personal care

If you don’t have a Power of Attorney for Personal Care and you become mentally incapable of making personal care decisions:

• You may be able to make a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. Even if you’re not capable of making personal care decisions, you might still be mentally capable of making a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. If you want to do this, try get legal help.
• Someone could go to court and ask to become your Guardian of the Person.

Decisions about health care

If you become mentally incapable of making decisions about your health care, the law says that your doctor and other health-care providers must get your SDM’s consent before treating you.

The Health Care Consent Act says who can be a SDM for health-care decisions. It is based on this order:

• your Guardian of the Person, if you have one
• the attorney you name in your Power of Attorney for Personal Care, if you have one or are mentally capable of making one
• your representative appointed by the Consent and Capacity Board, if you have one
• your spouse or partner
• your parent or your child
• your brother or sister
• any other relative
• the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee

Whoever your SDM is from this list must also be:

• at least 16 years old,
• mentally capable,
• available and willing to make health-care decisions for you, and
• not stopped from acting as your SDM by a court order or separation agreement.

If you want to choose who will be your SDM, you must make a Power of Attorney for Personal Care.