Power of Attorney in British Columbia: EPOA and Representation Agreements

British Columbia does not use a personal directive or a power of attorney for personal care. It splits incapacity planning into an enduring power of attorney (EPOA) for property and finances and a separate representation agreement for personal and health care decisions.

Information last verified on 2026-08-15. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Two separate documents, not one

For the concepts that carry across every Canadian province, see our national power of attorney guide. British Columbia treats financial planning and personal/health care planning as two distinct legal problems, each with its own Act, its own document, and its own vocabulary:

• The enduring power of attorney (EPOA), under the Power of Attorney Act, RSBC 1996, c 370, covers property and financial matters only: bank accounts, bills, investments, and selling or managing property.
• The representation agreement (RA), under the Representation Agreement Act, RSBC 1996, c 405, covers personal care and health care decisions, and can also cover routine financial matters within its narrower scope.
• The advance directive, under the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act, is a direct written instruction for health care rather than a delegation to a person.

The Public Guardian and Trustee of BC's personal planning guidance lists all three as separate tools, alongside a court-appointed "committee" as the fallback when none of them exists. If you have lived in a province that uses a "personal directive" (Alberta) or a "power of attorney for personal care" (Ontario), note that BC does not use either term. Using the wrong name on a BC document can cause confusion with financial institutions, care providers, or a court.

The enduring power of attorney: property and finances

An EPOA lets the person named (the attorney) manage the adult's property and financial affairs, including anything the adult could lawfully do themselves except make a will.

To be valid, the adult granting the EPOA must understand, per the Act's capacity standard: the property they have and its approximate value; obligations owed to any dependants; that the attorney can do almost anything with their financial affairs that they could do themselves; that mismanagement could reduce the value of their property; that the attorney could misuse their authority; and that the adult may revoke the EPOA at any time while still capable of understanding what that means. Adults are presumed capable until shown otherwise.

The document itself must expressly state whether the attorney may act immediately, while the adult is still capable, or only once the adult becomes incapable, and it must state that the attorney's authority continues despite the adult's later incapacity. Without that "enduring" language, the document is an ordinary power of attorney, which lapses automatically the moment the adult loses capacity, exactly when it is needed most. A direction in the EPOA to do anything unlawful is void and has no effect.

Signing and witnessing an EPOA

An EPOA must be in writing, dated, and signed by the adult in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign in the adult's presence. That requirement drops to a single witness if the witness is a lawyer or a member in good standing of the Society of Notaries Public of BC.

Several categories of people cannot act as a witness: the person named as attorney; a spouse, child, or parent of a named attorney; an employee or agent of a named attorney, unless the attorney is a lawyer, a notary, the Public Guardian and Trustee, or an authorized trust company; anyone under the age of 19; and anyone who cannot understand the adult's mode of communication without interpretive assistance. The employee-or-agent bar is easy to miss, since some other provinces only bar the attorney's immediate family.

The attorney must also separately sign the EPOA, in the presence of two witnesses, before exercising any authority under it, and the same witness-eligibility rules apply to that signature.

Representation agreements: personal and health care decisions

A representation agreement lets an adult name a representative to make personal and health care decisions, and comes in two distinct forms with different scopes and different capability thresholds to make one.

A section 7 "standard provisions" agreement covers personal care, routine financial matters such as paying bills or depositing income, health care as defined in the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act, and obtaining legal services. A representative under a section 7 agreement cannot be authorized to refuse life-preserving health care or to physically restrain the adult against their objection. In exchange for that narrower scope, the capability threshold to make a section 7 agreement is lower than for an ordinary contract: the Act looks at whether the adult can communicate a desire for a representative, show preferences, understand that the agreement shifts decision-making, and has a trust relationship with the person they are naming, rather than requiring full contractual capacity.

A section 9 "non-standard" agreement is broader. It can authorize a representative to decide on residence, work, education, and social contact, and, unlike a section 7 agreement, can authorize the representative to give or refuse consent to health care necessary to preserve life, and to physically restrain or move the adult if necessary. Because that authority is so significant, the Act requires the higher, general adult-capacity standard to make a section 9 agreement rather than the relaxed section 7 test.

Witnessing a representation agreement follows the same scheme as an EPOA: the adult signs in the presence of two witnesses, reduced to one if that witness is a lawyer or notary, and the same categories of people (the named representative or alternate, their spouse, child, or parent, and their employee or agent, subject to the same professional exceptions) are barred from witnessing.

Unlike an EPOA, a representation agreement does not need special "enduring" language. The Act states that authority under a section 7 or section 9 agreement is not terminated simply because the adult later becomes incapable of making the agreement in the first place, so it is inherently enduring once validly made. Where a representation agreement's financial provisions conflict with an EPOA, the EPOA's provision governs.

Advance directives: a separate, non-delegation tool

British Columbia's advance directive, made under the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act, is a direct written instruction about health care rather than a document naming a person to decide on your behalf. Because it does not delegate authority to anyone, it is a distinct tool from both the EPOA and the representation agreement, and the Public Guardian and Trustee's own guidance lists it separately from the other two.

When an EPOA takes effect

An EPOA becomes effective on the latest of three dates: the date both the adult and the attorney have signed it, a stated effective date, or, if the adult specifies that the EPOA only takes effect once they become incapable, the date that incapacity is confirmed to have occurred. If the EPOA is drafted this way, it must also state how, and by whom, incapacity is to be confirmed. If the person named to confirm incapacity is unable or unwilling to do so, a qualified health care provider may confirm it instead.

In practice, the Public Guardian and Trustee's guidance notes that most EPOAs in BC are drafted to take effect immediately, which avoids later disputes over exactly when incapacity began. A capable adult keeps the full ability to act personally at any time, whether or not the EPOA is already in effect.

Duties, gifts, and paying the attorney

An attorney acting under an EPOA must act honestly and in good faith, exercise the care of a reasonably prudent person, stay within the authority granted, keep required records, and act in the adult's best interests, taking their current wishes and values into account. The attorney must prioritize the adult's personal and health care needs when managing money, invest according to the Trustee Act unless the EPOA says otherwise, foster the adult's independence, avoid disposing of property that the adult's will specifically leaves to someone else unless genuinely necessary, and keep the adult's property separate from the attorney's own, apart from jointly held property.

An attorney can only give gifts, make loans, or make charitable donations from the adult's property if the EPOA expressly permits it, or if all of the following are true: the adult retains enough for their own and any dependants' needs and legal obligations, the adult made similar gifts when they were capable, and the total value stays at or under a ceiling set by regulation. The site has not verified the current dollar figure for that regulatory ceiling, so no specific number is stated here; confirm the current amount with the Public Guardian and Trustee of BC or a lawyer before relying on it.

An attorney is not entitled to be paid for acting unless the EPOA expressly authorizes compensation and sets the amount or rate, though reasonable expenses are reimbursable regardless. An attorney cannot delegate their decision-making authority unless the EPOA says otherwise, with one exception: investment-management authority can be delegated to a qualified investment specialist under the Trustee Act. An attorney also cannot make a will on the adult's behalf under any circumstances.

When an EPOA or representation agreement ends

While still capable of understanding what it means, an adult can change or revoke an EPOA at any time. The change or revocation must be in writing, signed with the same formalities as the original document, and takes effect once written notice is given to each attorney.

An attorney's authority under an EPOA ends if the EPOA itself is terminated or revoked, if the attorney resigns through the Act's resignation process, or if the attorney is the adult's spouse and the marriage or marriage-like relationship ends, unless the EPOA expressly says authority continues through separation. (See our guide to common-law relationships in British Columbia for how BC defines a marriage-like relationship.) Authority also ends if the attorney becomes incapable, dies, goes bankrupt, is a corporation that dissolves, or is convicted of a prescribed offence or an offence against the adult.

The EPOA document itself terminates on the adult's death, by court order, under the Patients Property Act, or on revocation. Importantly, the adult's own incapacity does not suspend or end the EPOA's authority; that is the entire purpose of making it "enduring" in the first place.

Fees

There is no government filing or registration fee to create either an EPOA or a representation agreement, since neither is registered with a government registry by default. A doctor's fee may apply if a qualified health care provider has to formally confirm incapacity to trigger a springing EPOA. If an EPOA is used to deal with real property, it, or a certified copy, must be filed at the Land Title Office, which carries the Land Title Office's ordinary filing fees; the site has not verified the exact current fee for that filing.

Powers of attorney and representation agreements made outside BC

British Columbia has an explicit statutory recognition rule for out-of-province documents. A power of attorney made outside BC is deemed to be an enduring power of attorney under BC's Act if it applies, or continues to apply, once the adult becomes incapable, was made in a jurisdiction outside BC, and complies with any prescribed requirements. The Representation Agreement Act contains a similar extrajurisdictional recognition provision for representation agreements, though this article has not verified its exact conditions; if you are relying on a document made in another province, confirm its BC status with a lawyer or notary before treating it as valid here.

If you don't have either document

Without a valid EPOA or representation agreement, a family member or other interested person generally has to apply to court, or in some circumstances to the Public Guardian and Trustee, to be appointed as the adult's committee of estate, of person, or both, under the Patients Property Act. This process is slower, more public, and typically more expensive than relying on documents signed while the adult was still capable. It ends when the person named in a valid EPOA or representation agreement is already able to act, which is the main practical reason to sign these documents before they are needed.

For related planning topics, see power of attorney in Canada, making a will in Canada, executor duties in Canada, and British Columbia probate fees.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about enduring powers of attorney, representation agreements, and advance directives in British Columbia, and is not legal advice. Two figures on this page are not stated because the site has not verified them from a primary source: the exact regulatory dollar ceiling on gift-giving by an attorney without express authorization, and the current Land Title Office filing fee for registering an EPOA against real property. The exact conditions for recognizing an out-of-province representation agreement have also not been independently verified. Confirm current rules, forms, and fees with the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, or a lawyer or notary, before signing or relying on any of these documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an EPOA and a representation agreement in British Columbia?

An enduring power of attorney (EPOA) covers property and financial decisions only. A representation agreement covers personal care and health care decisions, and can also cover routine financial matters within its narrower scope. Most people who want full coverage need both documents.

Does British Columbia use a personal directive or a power of attorney for personal care?

No. Those are the terms used in Alberta and Ontario. British Columbia's instrument for personal and health care decisions is called a representation agreement, made under the Representation Agreement Act.

How many witnesses does an EPOA need in British Columbia?

Two witnesses, unless the witness is a lawyer or a member in good standing of the Society of Notaries Public of BC, in which case one witness is enough. The attorney's own signature on the EPOA also needs to be witnessed under the same rules.

What is the difference between a section 7 and a section 9 representation agreement?

A section 7 standard agreement covers routine personal, health, and financial matters and can be made at a lower capability threshold, but cannot authorize refusing life-preserving care or physically restraining the adult. A section 9 agreement is broader, including authority over life-sustaining care and restraint, but requires a higher capability threshold to make.

Does becoming incapable cancel my EPOA or representation agreement?

No. Both are designed to continue despite the adult's incapacity, which is the entire point of making them. An EPOA needs express wording confirming it continues through incapacity; a representation agreement is inherently enduring once validly made without needing that specific language.

Is a power of attorney made in another province valid in British Columbia?

British Columbia has a statutory rule that recognizes an out-of-province power of attorney as a BC enduring power of attorney if it continues to apply during incapacity, was made outside BC, and meets any prescribed requirements. Confirm the details with a lawyer or notary before relying on an out-of-province document.

Can my attorney pay themselves for acting under my EPOA?

Only if the EPOA expressly authorizes compensation and sets the amount or rate. Otherwise the attorney is not entitled to be paid, though reasonable expenses are reimbursable regardless.