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Email this8:11 pm
October 15, 2015
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I am from bc but my savings account is at eq bank. Could this be a problem for my power of attorney? Do power of attorneys work across provinces?
8:56 pm
October 15, 2015
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I found this on the internet
http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x.....xecuted+In
It looks like those outside bc may want to check if their power of attorney is valid for peoples trust which i believe is based in vancouver.
1:29 am
October 21, 2013
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Thanks for pointing out this issue. I had never considered it. Could apply to various out-of-province FI's.
Also, this article was 2007. There could have been changes since then. Best to consult a lawyer, no doubt.
Another fly in the ointment could be the matter of transferring TFSA/RSP etc from FI in one province to FI in another province through POA, in which case you might need compliance with 2 additional provinces, I suppose - e.g attorney for person living in Ontario wants to move TFSA from Peoples to Accelerate.
9:57 am
October 27, 2013
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Dunno but I think much of this is a red herring. The POA my bro and I had of our mother (AB) was perfectly legit with a brokerage account in Toronto (ON). There are some potential issues with real property (executor located in a different province from the property), but capital property is likely quite different. (institutions located everywhere across Canada).
I think the key is a person's POA (example in the case of my now deceased mother) is done in the same province (AB) that she resided in (AB). There was no issue dealing with out-of-province institutions. I have moved from province to province over time and re-did my legal documents each time on the advice of lawyers.
10:43 am
December 23, 2011
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My wife had power of attorney for my mother. Living in BC we had no problems using it with the agent for BCE in Toronto .
3:03 pm
October 21, 2013
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I can see where brokerages, which are often/usually national in scope, could cope with this, likewise big banks, but I can imagine problems with, say, a MB CU, where the staff may only be familiar with local forms.
7:16 pm
April 6, 2013
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I read the Mondaq article that christinad mentioned.
Power of attorneys are under provincial jurisdiction and not federal. The article highlights the fact that some provinces have legislation that automatically recognizes valid power of attorneys from other provinces. Some provinces do not.
Should one have property in a province that does not and one does not live in that province, then one needs to make sure one's power of attorney meets the requirements of both provinces involved.
Is it not possible to execute a power of attorney that satisfies the requirements of multiple provinces?
7:38 pm
April 6, 2013
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I found a more recent March 2015 article written by Marcia A. Green, a lawyer with Ontario law firm Nelligan O'Brien Payne:
Snowbird Savvy - Are your Ontario Powers of Attorney valid everywhere?
Regarding the power of attorneys for property, as of March 2015, there are only four provinces that don't have legislated recognition of foreign ones:
To take into account the differences that exist in the creation of the power of attorney throughout the Canadian provinces and Florida, all Canadian provinces, except for New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have provisions in their governing legislation for recognizing a foreign power of attorney for property. ....
The situation for power of attorneys for personal care is similar but not the same.
8:36 pm
October 21, 2013
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Good one, Norman.
Funny to think of other provinces as "foreign".
It's convenient that there are effectively no high-interest accounts to be had in the Maritimes.
8:49 pm
October 15, 2015
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Norman, Thanks for posting the up to date info. Altared and Kanaka - good to hear it shouldn't be a problem if bank is out of province. I'm still tempted to phone eq bank and ask them their process. This will be the first time i've given someone power of attorney. Is there anything i should do other than provide my bank names and account numbers?
9:13 pm
April 6, 2013
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It is still a good idea to ask EQ Bank about their process.
In that Nelligan O'Brien Payne article, lawyer Marcia A. Green noted the following:
Although the various legislations may have a mechanism for recognizing foreign power of attorney, the institutions (i.e. banks, hospitals) may require a written legal opinion or court order recognizing the foreign power of attorney as valid before they accept it. Due to the additional time, expense and lack of certainty that may result in seeking a legal opinion or attempting to validate the powers in another jurisdiction, a more practical approach is to put in place a local power of attorney for property and for personal care in each jurisdiction ....
9:16 am
October 27, 2013
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christinad said
This will be the first time i've given someone power of attorney. Is there anything i should do other than provide my bank names and account numbers?
No. I have a Word document in which I keep a list of all pertinent information that my POA needs to know. Same for my executors, albeit an executor needs to know more information....and in my case, my POA and executor are the same. So only one document is necessary. Every time I make a financial account change, I update that document and send it to my POA/executor.
9:31 pm
April 6, 2013
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Loonie said
.... Funny to think of other provinces as "foreign". ....
Could have been "alien" instead! 
I found this U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens from the IRS.
7:04 pm
October 21, 2013
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Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?.... Little GREEN Men are no doubt making the rules.
6:35 pm
October 15, 2015
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I did a quick google search for power of attorney eq bank and found this
https://www.eqbank.ca/general-banking/legal/voluntary-codes-of-conduct#PowersOfAttorney
I am pleased they are so transparent about the poa process
I guess i should have searched in the first place!
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