A representation agreement is a British Columbia document that lets you name someone to make health and personal care decisions for you if you become unable to, and in its standard form it can be made even by someone with reduced capacity. It is governed by the Representation Agreement Act and works alongside a power of attorney, which covers financial matters.
Representation Agreement Lawyers
Representation Agreements are a key part of estate and advance care planning. A Representation Agreement is a legal document that allows you to plan for future incapacity. Similar to a Power of Attorney, it allows you to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf, but instead of being responsible for legal and financial matters, a representative can make decisions about your personal care and medical care if you become incapable.
The team at Onyx Law Group understands the unique intricacies of advance care planning and can assist you with preparing a Representation Agreement that reflects your care wishes and instructions. We can help you plan for your future and any possible incapacity you may experience, so your medical and healthcare wishes are respected and followed.
Legal and Enforceable Representation Agreements
Representation Agreements allow you to choose someone you love and trust to make decisions for you if you have lost the capacity to make these decisions for yourself. An individual appointed under a Power of Attorney cannot make health care decisions for you. You must appoint a substitute decision maker for health and personal care under a separate legal document, called a Representation Agreement. You are able to appoint more than one representative and give them equal or different decision-making authority.
In order for a Representation Agreement to be legal and enforceable, it must meet the following major requirements in compliance with the Representation Agreement Act:
● be in writing
● signed at the end by the maker of the agreement
● signed in the presence of 2 witnesses, who cannot be the appointed representative(s) or persons closely associated with the representative(s)
An experienced lawyer can help you create a Representation Agreement, and also advise you of the validity and effect of your existing Representation Agreement.
Types of Representation Agreements
There are two types of Representation Agreements. An estate planning lawyer can help you understand which of these agreements is right for you.
● Section 7 Representation Agreements
This type of Representation Agreement allows the individual to name representatives to “help make decisions, or make decisions on behalf of the adult, with respect to personal care and health care, the routine management of financial affairs and obtaining legal services for the adult and instructing counsel.” A Section 7 Representation Agreement is usually intended for individuals who are not capable of giving the representative greater decision-making power or the ability to appoint an lawyer under a Power of Attorney because of compromised capacity or other factors.
● Section 9 Representation Agreements
This type of Representation Agreement gives the individual the ability to “name a representative to do anything that the representative considers necessary in relation to the personal care or health care of the adult.”
Benefits of a Representation Agreement
There are many benefits associated with having a Representation Agreement. These benefits include:
● Ability to appoint the individuals you want to make decisions on your behalf
Without a Representation Agreement, the law dictates which of your family members may make healthcare related decisions on your behalf, and in what order. With a Representation Agreement, you can establish the specific order and hierarchy of your decision makers, which may include people not related to you, such a friends, and exclude family members you do not wish to make decisions for you.
● S. 9 Representatives have greater decision-making authority than substitute decision makers
You can give your S. 9 Representatives the power to make all decisions concerning your health care and medical care, including the power to make care facility arrangements or make end-of-life decision, such as removal from life support. S. 9 Representatives have more decision-making authority than default substitute decision makers (where an individual does not have a Representation Agreement), whose powers are limited in various respects.
● Certainty that your wishes will be respected
If you become incapacitated for any reason, your Representative has the power to speak on your behalf to ensure that your medical and healthcare wishes are respected. Creating a Representation Agreement allows you the opportunity to communicate your wishes to your Representatives who will make decisions with those wishes in mind.
● Saves you or your family time and money
This kind of legal document also saves you and your family the time and cost of having to go to court to be appointed with the same powers that could have been given in a Representation Agreement.
● Reduces the burden on your family
If you’ve been impacted by a medical emergency, it can be a very traumatic and stressful time for your loved ones. Having a legal Representation Agreement in place helps reduce the burden on your family because they know who is your health care decisions are clearly laid out for your representative to follow.
Vancouver Estate Planning Lawyers
When considering the drafting of a Representation Agreement, it’s important to discuss your wishes and instructions with a lawyer. Our team of experienced lawyers have the expertise and experience to help you navigate the intricacies of creating a Representation Agreement that will reflect your wishes and reduce the future burden on your family. Contact our team to schedule a consultation today.
Standard (section 7) and enhanced (section 9) agreements
The Representation Agreement Act creates two kinds of agreement, and the difference is a matter of how much authority you can hand over and how capable you have to be to do it. A standard agreement under section 7 covers everyday ground: routine management of your financial affairs, such as paying bills and depositing income; personal care, meaning decisions about daily living and where you receive support; and minor and major health care. It is the agreement most people put in place, and it can be made even by an adult who could no longer sign a contract, which is what makes it valuable when capacity is already slipping.
An enhanced agreement under section 9 reaches further into decisions the standard agreement cannot touch. It can authorize a representative to refuse life-supporting care or treatment, to consent to health care the adult refuses while capable, and to decide that the adult be admitted to a care facility. Section 9 is where the hardest end-of-life and placement decisions live, and it does not extend to the routine financial management that section 7 handles.
Capability, the monitor, and how it fits with a power of attorney
The two agreements carry different capability tests, and that is deliberate. Under section 8, the threshold for a section 7 agreement is intentionally low: it looks at whether you communicate a desire to have a representative, express choices and preferences, and have a relationship of trust with the person you are naming, rather than whether you understand every legal consequence. A section 9 agreement demands more. Under section 10 you must understand the nature and consequences of what you are granting, closer to the standard for a contract. That gap is why a section 7 agreement remains available to many people for whom a section 9 agreement no longer is.
Some agreements also call for a monitor, a person named to check that the representative is acting honestly and in your interest. Where a section 7 agreement authorizes routine management of financial affairs, the Act generally requires a monitor unless an exception applies, for example where your spouse is the representative or two representatives must act together. The monitor is a built-in safeguard against misuse, not a formality.
A representation agreement does not stand alone. It governs health and personal care, while an enduring power of attorney, made under the Power of Attorney Act, governs your property and financial affairs and continues to operate after you lose capacity. The two are complementary documents: the enduring power of attorney handles the house, the investments, and the banking, and the representation agreement handles medical and personal-care decisions the lawyer has no authority to make. A complete incapacity plan in British Columbia usually needs both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a representation agreement in BC?
A representation agreement is a legal document under the Representation Agreement Act that lets you name someone to make personal and health care decisions for you if you become incapable. It covers matters such as medical treatment and where and how you live, which is separate from a power of attorney that deals with financial and legal affairs.
What is the difference between a section 7 and a section 9 agreement?
A section 7 agreement covers routine matters, including minor and major health care and routine financial affairs, and can be made even when your capability is limited. A section 9 agreement can grant broader authority over health and personal care, including refusing life-support treatment, but you must be capable of understanding it when you sign.
How is a representation agreement different from a power of attorney?
A representation agreement covers health and personal care decisions. An enduring power of attorney, made under the Power of Attorney Act, covers financial and legal decisions. Many people put both in place so that someone can look after their care and their finances if they lose capacity.
What happens if I become incapable without a representation agreement?
Without a representation agreement or another valid substitute decision-maker, your family may have to apply to court to be appointed as committee under the Patients Property Act, which is slower and more costly. For everyday health decisions, BC law allows a temporary substitute decision-maker to be chosen, but their authority is limited.
Onyx Law Group represents clients in family law throughout British Columbia, estate and trust litigation, estate planning and probate matters. Consult with our experienced BC team at
(604) 900-2538