It is a document that lets you name, in advance, 1 or several people to look after your well-being and manage your property if you become incapable of doing this yourself. In legal terms, this state of being unable to look after yourself and your property is called “incapacity”.

The person you name in your mandate in anticipation of incapacity to look after your well-being and manage your property is called a “mandatary”.

A mandate in anticipation of incapacity lets you to name 1 or more people to take care of you and manage your property while you are incapable and still alive. A will lets you choose who will receive your property and how it will be distributed after your death.

A mandate in anticipation of incapacity lets you name 1 or several people to take care of you and manage your property from the moment the court declares that you are incapacitated.

On the other hand, a power of attorney (also called a “mandate” or “ordinary mandate”) lets you name 1 or more people to act in your name even though you are capable of doing so yourself. For example, you could sign a mandate naming your brother as the person responsible for collecting and depositing rent from your rental properties because this is convenient for you and not because you are incapable of doing it.

As soon as a court declares that you are incapacitated, a power of attorney is no longer valid. From that moment on, only a mandate in anticipation of incapacity is useful.

If you do not have a mandate in anticipation of incapacity, anyone from your circle of friends and family (spouse, partner, relative, friend or someone else close to you) can ask the court to put into place protective supervision to protect your best interests. Depending on the circumstances, an adviser, tutor or curator can be named to look after your well-being and manage your property.

A mandate in anticipation of incapacity can be made in 2 ways:

• Notarized Mandate
  A mandate made in front of a notary gives the document some authenticity. In other words, it will be harder to challenge in court. The notary certifies that you agree to the mandate and keeps the original copy. He then registers it in the Register of Mandates of the Chambre des notaires du Québec.

• Mandate in the Presence of Witnesses
  This type of mandate must be signed by you and 2 witnesses who can confirm that you are of sound mind, which means that you can express your wishes and understand the consequences of your decisions. The witnesses cannot be people who will benefit from the mandate, nor can they be named as mandataries. Be sure that people in your circle of friends and family know that you have a mandate in anticipation of incapacity. Those close to you should have a copy of the mandate and be able to track down at least 1 of the witnesses so your file can be submitted to the court if you become incapacitated.
  
  A mandate in the presence of witnesses can also be written by a lawyer. This type of mandate will be registered in the Québec Bar’s Register of Mandates.

The Public Curator has a model mandate in anticipation of incapacity on its website.

It is a good idea to pick an adult you trust, because your mandatary will make decisions about your well-being and the management of your property. You can choose 1 person who will take care of everything or 1 person to look after your well-being and another to manage your property.

It is also a good idea to speak with the people you choose to let them know about the mandate in anticipation of incapacity and see whether they will accept this responsibility.

It is also important to appoint 1 or more replacements. When the time comes, the people you chose may no longer want the responsibility or be unable to take it on.

The responsibilities depend on the role you give to your mandatary.

The “mandatary to the person” looks after the physical and mental well-being of the incapacitated person. For example, this mandatary must:

• make decisions about the incapacitated person’s housing
  
• ensure that her needs are taken care of (clothing, personal hygiene, cigarettes, etc.)
  
• make sure she can participate in outings and leisure activities
  
• consent to health care (as allowed by the law, because the incapacitated person retains some independence in this area)
  
• act in the name of the incapacitated person in legal matters concerning her physical and mental well-being

The “mandatary to property” manages the incapacitated person’s property, debts and other financial matters. For example, the mandatory to property must:

• manage the incapacitated person’s income (pensions, disability benefits, social assistance, etc.)
  
• pay her bills (housing, electricity, taxes, credit cards, etc.)
  
• manage her assets (make investments, renovate or sell real estate, etc.)
  
• collect, in her name, any money owed to her
  
• act on her behalf in legal proceedings regarding her property

Note that 1 mandatary can assume all of these roles if your mandate in anticipation of incapacity provides for this.

A mandate in anticipation of incapacity gives the mandatary 2 fundamental responsibilities: looking after the well-being of an incapacitated person and managing her property.

It’s up to you to decide what powers you want to give to your mandatary and, to a certain extent, how he will exercise them. The contents of the document should be complete and precise to avoid any problems when going to court and when your mandatory uses the mandate to look after you or manage your property.

Here are some examples of things that can be included in these mandates:

• naming a tutor to look after your children if the other parent cannot do so
  
• instructions about your well-being. For example, you could indicate to your mandatary that you would prefer living at home as long as possible, instead of moving into a residence.
  
• instructions about managing your property. For example, you could say that all of your property can be used by your family. This would allow your spouse or partner to use the funds in your personal bank account to pay for your child’s studies if you become incapacitated.
  
• a salary for your mandatary. If nothing is said about this in your mandate in anticipation of incapacity, your mandatary will only have a right to be reimbursed his expenses.

You can limit your mandatary’s powers in your mandate in anticipation of incapacity.

Here are some examples of limits imposed on a mandatory:

• getting the agreement of 1 or more people to sell property, for example, your house
  
  
• providing annual reports of the management of your property to a person you trust
  
  
• making an inventory (list) of your property as soon as you have been declared incapacitated
  
  
• having your incapacity re-evaluated on a regular basis

Yes. As long as you are not incapacitated, you can change your mandate.

Be careful! The document that changes your mandate in anticipation of incapacity must be made in a way that respects the same rules explained in the question, “Does a mandate in anticipation of incapacity have to be done in a certain way?”

You can also make a completely new mandate.

To make sure that your most recent mandate will be respected, destroy all copies of your old mandate and let your mandatary and those close to you know about the new mandate. If you go through a notary or a lawyer, they will make sure that the new mandate is registered in the right place.

No. Before being able to use the powers given to him in a mandate in anticipation of incapacity, your mandatary must obtain a judgment from the court regarding your incapacity. The judgment makes the mandate official. This procedure is called “homologation”.

Certain steps must be followed to homologate a mandate in anticipation of incapacity. A notary or lawyer can help you.

1. Get professionals to do medical and psychosocial assessments of the person. Consult the person’s doctor or the health care facility closest to her. These assessments must conclude that the person is incapacitated, that is, unable to look after herself or manage her property.
   
   
2. Ensure that the mandate in anticipation of incapacity was the last one the person signed and that it was not cancelled by her. You can do this by checking the person’s belongings and the Registres des dispositions testamentaires et des mandats du Québec .
   
   
3. Get a certified copy of the mandate in anticipation of incapacity if it was made in front of a notary or, if it was made in the presence of 2 witnesses, get the original and track down at least 1 of the witnesses.
   
   
4. Using a bailiff to deliver the notice, notify the mandataries named in the mandate, Quebec’s Public Curator, and another member of the family of the person who created the mandate.

Once these steps have been completed, a judge, clerk or notary will speak with the person concerned to evaluate how incapacitated she is. The judge in charge of studying the request for homologation will look at the file. He will make sure that the mandate in anticipation of incapacity respects the legal requirements and that the person who signed it was capable of understanding its contents when it was signed. The judge will then decide whether the person in question is incapacitated and whether the mandate should be homologated.

The court may refuse to homologate a mandate in anticipation of incapacity if there is a very good reason to do so. This could be the case, for example, if a family member proves that the mandatary was violent toward the incapacitated person. In this case, and if there is no other mandate in existence, the judge could decide to put into place “protective supervision”. To learn more, consult our Infosheet Protective Supervision.

If the mandate in anticipation of incapacity is incomplete, the judge can put into place protective supervision to complete it.

Anyone in your circle of friends and family or anyone concerned about your well-being can inform the Public Curator of the situation. The Public Curator will then investigate and take steps necessary to ensure that the incapacitated person is protected.

Otherwise, it is also possible to ask the court to dismiss the mandatary (take the job of mandatary away from him), and replace him with the other person named in the mandate.

If a replacement is not named in the mandate, or the replacement cannot or refuses to become the mandatary, the court can cancel the mandate and put into place protective supervision for the incapacitated person.

The mandate in anticipation of incapacity ends:

• at the end of the incapacity (but only after the court recognizes that the person is now able to take care of herself and manage her property)
  
• on the death of the incapacitated person

The mandate also comes to an end for reasons that have to do with the mandatary, if there is no replacement named in the mandate who is willing to take his place.

This is the case if the mandatary:

• quits
  
• dies
  
• becomes incapacitated
  
• declares bankruptcy (unless he is not paid for being a mandatary)
  
• is dismissed by the court

In these cases, the judge can put into place protective supervision to ensure that the incapacitated adult is protected.