Power of Attorney in Nova Scotia: Enduring POA and Personal Directives

Nova Scotia's Powers of Attorney Act, extensively amended in 2022, lets you name an attorney to manage your property and finances, while a separate law, the Personal Directives Act, covers health and personal care decisions through a document that appoints a delegate rather than an attorney.

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

Two separate laws, two separate documents

Nova Scotia handles property and personal decision-making under two different statutes.

The Powers of Attorney Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 352 governs a power of attorney for property and finances: bank accounts, bills, real estate, and investments. The Act was substantially rewritten by S.N.S. 2022, c. 23 (Bill 131), which took effect July 6, 2022, according to the government's own release. That reform changed most of the operative content, including capacity, execution, duties, monitors, accounting, gifts, and disqualification rules, but it is worth being precise about what happened: Bill 131 is titled "An Act to Amend Chapter 352 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Powers of Attorney Act." It amended the existing 1989 statute in place. The current consolidated law still carries its original citation, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 352, not a new 2022 chapter number.

Health and personal care decisions are handled by a different law entirely, the Personal Directives Act, S.N.S. 2008, c. 8, in force since April 1, 2010. It does not use the word "attorney" at all; the person you appoint is called a delegate. The two documents can be combined into a single instrument if it meets both Acts' requirements (Personal Directives Act, section 23).

A third, related law, the Adult Capacity and Decision-making Act, S.N.S. 2017, c. 4, in force since December 28, 2017, is not a substitute for either document. It governs court-ordered "representation" for an adult who did not plan ahead, and a valid power of attorney or personal directive already in place takes priority over that court process for the matters it covers.

For the concepts that work the same way across Canada, see our national power of attorney guide.

Capacity and execution for a Nova Scotia power of attorney

Capacity is presumed. Section 2A defines incapacity as being unable to understand and appreciate the nature and effects of granting a power of attorney, meaning the type and value of the property involved, the needs of any dependants, how broad the attorney's authority will be, the risk of mismanagement or misuse, and the fact that the document can be revoked while the donor remains capable. Needing help or support to understand these things does not, on its own, mean someone is incapable.

Execution requirements, from sections 2A and 3 as amended in 2022:

• The donor must have capacity at the time of signing.
• The document must be in writing, signed and dated. If the donor is physically unable to sign, someone else may sign at the donor's direction and in the donor's presence.
• The donor must be the age of majority.
• The document must be witnessed and signed by two people, both the age of majority, both present at the signing, and neither one may be the attorney or the attorney's spouse, registered domestic partner, common-law partner, or child. (See our guide to common-law relationships in Nova Scotia for how the province defines a registered domestic or common-law partner.)

Nova Scotia's Act does not require notarization. No prescribed statutory form was located either. The Minister has the power to create one by regulation (section 21(1)(a)), but this article did not find an in-force regulation that has actually done so, so whether an official form currently exists is unclear.

A power of attorney made in another province or territory is recognized in Nova Scotia if it grants authority over property or finances and was valid under the law of the place where it was made (section 20).

"Enduring" power of attorney and springing authority

Nova Scotia's Act uses the term enduring power of attorney directly, defining it (section 1A(e)) as a power of attorney that continues to be effective even after the donor becomes incapacitated. As in other provinces, a standard power of attorney is not enduring by default; the document has to say so.

The Act also supports a springing structure (section 8(2) to (4)): the donor can make the attorney's authority exercisable only once incapacity is determined, by a person named in the document for that purpose, by a "medical practitioner" under the Medical Act if no one else was named or that person is unwilling or unable to act, or by a person set out in regulation. The donor may name anyone to make that determination, including the attorney themselves.

Attorney duties, gifts, records, and compensation

Section 5 sets out a duty of loyalty: the attorney must act according to the donor's directions, in the donor's best interests, in good faith, and must avoid secret profits and conflicts of interest, never benefiting personally from the role without the donor's informed consent. The attorney also has a duty not to unreasonably interfere with the donor's contact with supportive friends and family, and not to dispose of assets the attorney knows are meant to pass under the donor's estate plan unless it is necessary to carry out some other duty. The standard of care is that of "a reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances," and a court can relieve an attorney who acted honestly and reasonably from liability (section 6).

Gifts. Section 11 bars gifts from the donor's estate except where the document expressly allows them or the donor directs them, and even then not if the gift would compromise the estate's ability to meet the donor's own needs.

Compensation. Unlike Ontario, Nova Scotia has no default statutory fee formula or percentage for attorney compensation. Section 18(1)(g) only lets the court, on application, allow or disallow remuneration an attorney has claimed. Any payment has to come from the document itself or from court approval.

Records. Sections 12 and 13 require the attorney to keep records of the donor's assets, liabilities, and transactions, and to account to the donor on demand. During incapacity, the attorney must account, on demand, to a named monitor, or to immediate family under specified conditions, but no more than once a calendar year absent a court order.

Ending, suspending, or challenging a Nova Scotia power of attorney

Voluntary revocation (section 17). A capable donor can vary or revoke a power of attorney at any time, as long as they are not incapable of understanding what a revocation means. A variation has to meet the same execution formalities as the original document. Written notice must go to each attorney and to anyone else regulation requires notice to. The change takes effect on notice, or on a later date the donor states.

Disqualification and suspension (section 9). An attorney cannot act while lacking capacity, while under the age of majority, if convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, if an undischarged bankrupt, or if they are a paid health care or support provider to the donor, unless they are also immediate family. A conviction or bankruptcy can sometimes be cured by a pardon or by disclosure and the donor's consent while the donor is still capable; otherwise the attorney's authority is suspended, not automatically or permanently ended.

Death, marriage, and divorce. Nova Scotia's Powers of Attorney Act does not say what happens to a power of attorney when the donor dies, marries, or divorces. This article found no automatic-termination rule in the statute for any of those events. That silence is a real gap in the law, not an oversight in this article: the separate Personal Directives Act explicitly revokes a spouse delegate's appointment when the spousal relationship ends (section 6 of that Act), so the two laws are not symmetrical. Do not assume a Nova Scotia power of attorney behaves the same way as a will or a personal directive on these points without confirming directly with the Public Trustee or a lawyer.

Court orders (section 18). On application by the attorney, a monitor, the Public Trustee, or another interested person, the court can terminate the attorney's authority or the power of attorney itself, vary its terms, substitute a new attorney, or grant other relief.

A power of attorney does not need to be registered or filed to be valid. A document used to deal with registered real property may separately need to go through the Land Registration Office, which is a property-recording step outside the scope of this article.

Getting a power of attorney or personal directive in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia's Public Trustee does not publish a fillable power of attorney creation template; its Forms and Guides page lists only administrative forms such as referrals, capacity-assessment requests, and accounting forms. In April 2025, the province announced it had funded a free power of attorney app, built through a partnership with the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, with a stated provincial investment of $135,000. The app itself is hosted by that nonprofit, not the government.

The Personal Directives Act side is better served with official paperwork: the Department of Justice publishes a long-form "Preparing a Personal Directive" package with instructions, and a short "Naming a Delegate Only" form, both as free downloadable PDFs.

There is no official fee schedule for making or filing either document in Nova Scotia. Neither one is a court filing on its own, so ordinary court-application costs only apply if someone brings a matter before the court under section 18 of the Powers of Attorney Act or the equivalent provision of the Personal Directives Act.

What a Nova Scotia personal directive covers

The Personal Directives Act lets a capable adult set out instructions, values, and wishes about their own personal care, appoint one or more delegates to make those decisions, or do both. Capacity for this purpose (sections 2(a) and 3(1)) means being able to understand information relevant to a personal care decision and to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences.

Execution is lighter than the property document's. A personal directive must be in writing, dated, and signed by the maker, or by someone else at the maker's direction and in the maker's presence if the maker cannot sign, excluding the delegate or the delegate's spouse, but only in front of one witness, who also signs (section 3(2)-(3)). That is a real structural difference from the two-witness rule for a property power of attorney.

A paid personal-care provider cannot be named delegate unless they are the maker's spouse or a listed relative, or the directive specifically authorizes it (section 3(4)). If more than one delegate is named, each must be assigned authority over different matters; there is no automatic joint-or-several default (section 3(5)).

A personal directive takes effect whenever the maker actually lacks capacity for a given personal-care decision, rather than on a fixed date or a formal notice (section 9). It ends when the maker regains capacity, when the maker dies, on written revocation by a capable maker using the same formalities, by court order, or if the original is destroyed with the intent to revoke it (section 12). That means Nova Scotia's personal-care instrument directly addresses what happens on death, unlike the property power of attorney. A spouse named as delegate is automatically removed if the spousal relationship ends, unless the directive says otherwise (section 6).

If someone becomes incapable with no personal directive in place, the Act names a "nearest relative" to make health care, placement, and home care decisions, in a defined order: spouse, child, parent, a person acting in the role of parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, then other relatives, provided they had contact with the person in the preceding 12 months, which a court can waive, and are willing to act. If nobody in that list is available, the decision falls to the Public Trustee (section 14).

The Act also creates offences (sections 25 to 28) for wilfully destroying, concealing, altering, or forging a directive or its revocation, misrepresenting the maker's wishes, requiring a directive as a condition of receiving goods or services, or coercing or unduly influencing someone into making or revoking one.

A Nova Scotia power of attorney, like everywhere else in Canada, stops governing an estate once the donor has died. See our guides to making a will in Canada, executor duties in Canada, and Nova Scotia probate fees for what happens after that.

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Nova Scotia's Powers of Attorney Act does not say what happens to a power of attorney on the donor's death, marriage, or divorce, and this article does not assume an answer to that gap. Whether a regulation prescribing an official power of attorney form is currently in force could not be confirmed either. Confirm current requirements with Nova Scotia's Public Trustee, the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, or a licensed Nova Scotia lawyer before signing or relying on any power of attorney or personal directive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a power of attorney and a personal directive in Nova Scotia?

A power of attorney, under the Powers of Attorney Act, covers property and financial decisions and appoints an attorney. A personal directive, under the separate Personal Directives Act, covers health and personal care decisions and appoints a delegate. The two can be combined into one document if it satisfies both Acts' requirements.

Did Nova Scotia create a new power of attorney law in 2022?

Not exactly. S.N.S. 2022, c. 23 extensively amended the existing Powers of Attorney Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 352, rather than replacing it with a new statute. The reform took effect July 6, 2022, and rewrote most of the Act's operative rules on capacity, execution, duties, and court powers.

How many witnesses does a Nova Scotia power of attorney need?

A property power of attorney needs two witnesses, both the age of majority and present at signing, and neither can be the attorney or the attorney's spouse, registered domestic partner, common-law partner, or child. A personal directive, by contrast, needs only one witness.

Does a power of attorney end automatically when the donor dies in Nova Scotia?

The Powers of Attorney Act does not state a death-triggered termination rule, which is a genuine gap in the statute. The separate Personal Directives Act does address death directly, ending automatically when the maker dies.

Is there a free power of attorney form in Nova Scotia?

The government has not published its own fillable power of attorney template, but it helped fund a free power of attorney app built with the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia. Official free forms do exist for a personal directive, published by the Department of Justice.

How much can an attorney be paid in Nova Scotia?

There is no default statutory fee scale, unlike Ontario. Compensation has to be set out in the power of attorney document itself, or approved by the court under section 18 of the Powers of Attorney Act.

What happens if I become incapable in Nova Scotia with no personal directive?

The Personal Directives Act names a nearest relative, in a set order such as spouse, then child, then parent, to make health care, placement, and home care decisions, provided they have had recent contact with you and are willing to act. If nobody qualifies, the decision falls to the Public Trustee.