Wills and Powers of Attorney
Wills and Powers of Attorney must be completed to suit the client’s needs
To ensure that the client’s wills and powers of attorney are completed to properly reflect the best interest of the client, Howard Nightingale Professional Corporation provides a clear and comprehensive workflow for our clients.
Initial Phase
The initial phase consists of meeting with the client, reviewing pertinent affairs and existing documents, and providing helpful knowledge and advice to the client while obtaining necessary information and directions from the client.
Second Phase
The second phase, drawing up the documents, is when the client’s directions and instructions are translated into the appropriate and required documents.
Final Phase
The final phase is to meet with the client to review the documents, and upon finalization, to attend on their signing. You now have the option to meet at our office in person, or virtually with the assistance of a courier, to deliver the document to be signed. If the document is signed on a virtual zoom call, we will arrange for a courier to pick up your signed document and bring it back to our office so that we can provide our signatures as witnesses.
For more detail, please read below:
- Meet with clients who are making their first wills and/or powers of attorney and enquiring about estate planning. Provide explanations of the various options available and undertake a general review of the client’s affairs to date. Provide information enabling the client to make effective decisions.
- Undertake a general review of the affairs of the client who has previously established a will, powers of attorney, estate planning, trust instruments or other such documentation.
- Arrange a follow-up meeting with clients to discuss the review.
- Provide advice for the drafting of the instruments and obtain any additional information required to draw up the documents.
- For established wills, Howard Nightingale will draw up the codicils (amendments) or replacement documents as required. Codicils are useful when there are small changes to an existing will, such as altering the designated executor. However, a number of amendments can complicate the document to the point where Howard Nightingale Professional Corporation might advise drawing up a new will in order to clarify and better protect the client’s wishes.
- Draw up the will or codicil, or powers of attorney for property decisions or personal care decisions, and any trust instruments, as part of estate planning.
- Presentation and attending on signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you lose capacity without a POA, your family may have to apply to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to be appointed as your guardian. this is a public, costly, and lengthy process that can take months to resolve, during which your finances may be frozen.
Original documents should be kept in a safe, fireproof place where your executor can easily find them. While many people use safety deposit boxes, these can sometimes be difficult for executors to access quickly. We recommend keeping them in a secure location and providing your executor with a copy or clear instructions on where the originals are held.
Yes. All Powers of Attorney automatically terminate at the moment of your death. From that point forward, the instructions in your Will take over, and your Executor becomes the person in charge of your estate.
As long as you are mentally capable, you can change or revoke these documents at any time. In fact, it is recommended to review them every few years to ensure they still reflect your current assets and relationships.
Your executor or attorney should be someone you trust implicitly who is also capable of handling complex administrative and emotional tasks. It is common to choose a spouse, an adult child, or a professional trustee. You should always name a “backup” or alternate in case your first choice is unable to serve.
While you can legally draft your own Will, it is not recommended. Legal professionals ensure that your Will complies with the Succession Law Reform Act, uses precise language to avoid ambiguity, and includes essential tax-saving strategies. A professionally drafted Will is much harder to challenge in court.
A Codicil is a legal amendment to an existing Will. It is useful for small changes, like updating the name of an executor or adding a specific gift. If you have many changes, or if your family situation has significantly shifted, Howard Nightingale often recommends drafting a new Will to avoid confusion and potential legal disputes.
A POA for Personal Care only takes effect when you are mentally incapable of making your own health decisions. However, a POA for Property can take effect immediately upon signing or only upon your incapacity, depending on how the document is drafted. Most people choose to have it take effect only when they are unable to manage their own finances.
A Power of Attorney for Property allows your chosen “attorney” to manage your financial affairs, such as paying bills, selling a home, or managing investments. A Power of Attorney for Personal Care focuses on your healthcare and housing decisions, such as medical treatments, long-term care placement, and end-of-life wishes.
Yes. As of 2026, Ontario permanently allows for the virtual witnessing of Wills and Powers of Attorney. The process requires a meeting via video conference (like Zoom) where at least one of the witnesses is a licensed lawyer or paralegal. At Howard Nightingale, we facilitate this by coordinating with a courier to handle the physical document transfer for final signatures.
Your information will always remain private and confidential.