Who will manage your day-to-day financial matters if, heaven forbid, you are in a car accident that leaves you in a coma? Your life would be on hold, leaving you unable to quell your family's fears, to make decisions, or to handle your financial affairs.

Most people assume that responsibility for their financial affairs falls to their spouse or to another family member. However, this is not necessarily the case. If you do not have a valid power of attorney and become incapacitated due to injury or illness, control of your affairs could yield to a provincial public trustee. While the trustee's mandate is to look after your best interests, their actions may not reflect the decisions you would have made, if capable, for yourself.

Power of attorney is a legal document that grants another person legal decision-making powers on your behalf. You can select and designate in this document one or more persons you trust to act in the manner set out in your power of attorney. Make sure that this person ( or persons ) will have your best interests at heart.

Powers of attorney can be for limited purposes. For example, perhaps you are planning to leave Canada for an extended period, and wish to give your son access to your bank account so that he can pay your bills. A power of attorney can grant your son the legal power to access your accounts.

A power of attorney is revoked automatically upon your death. The power of attorney also ceases if the person you have appointed as your attorney dies, so consider appointing an alternative attorney. If you wish to revoke a power of attorney, you may do so in writing, however, you must be mentally capable at the time. The scope of a power of attorney includes financial and property matters only. In some provincial jurisdictions you may grant the attorney power to make decisions about your health care.

Furthermore, you may make the power of attorney specific to give you the ability to limit your attorney's powers to a specific task or time period. In the extended travel situation, for example, you could choose to specify the date the power of attorney will end - perhaps the day you plan to return from your travels.

The designation of a power of attorney will survive your mental incapacity or infirmity provided that the document includes a sentence stating that you wish for the power of attorney to continue during any mental incapacity or infirmity. This is known as an enduring or continuing power of attorney.

Your lawyer can recommend the most suitable form of power of attorney for your situation when you meet with him or her to prepare the document. As your circumstances change down the road, so may the type of power of attorney you require.

Having an enduring power of attorney could save your family both time and money in the event you become mentally incapacitated. An enduring power of attorney may eliminate the need for your family to apply for a court order allowing them to make decisions on your behalf in the even of your incapacity. A court proceeding can be time consuming and expensive. In addition, the court may impose requirements on the appointed person to post a security bond and advise the authorities on a periodic basis of the state of your assets.

Because of all the responsibility your power of attorney will assume on your behalf, be sure to select someone you trust and who knows how you would like your affairs to be handled. A power of attorney need not be a lawyer, but must be at least 18 years of age and mentally capable. Select someone who is financially secure so that they are not tempted to dip into your assets. After all, you wouldn't want to awaken from your coma to find your life's savings squandered!

Creating a power of attorney can help ensure that your affairs will be handled according to your wishes. Take the time to make a valid power of attorney - as an important aspect of estate planning, it can protect both your interests and the interests of your family.