Personal Directives

The Alberta Government has done a fine job of providing information on this new area of the law. I invite you to read the information the information that follows. It explains what there is to know about Personal Directives. In my opinion it is an essential part of estate planning.

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Choosing now for the Future: Personal Directives

The Alberta government has provided and opportunity for you to write a personal directive to plan in advance.

What is a personal directive?

• A personal directive is a legal document which you can write in case something happens to you in the future and you cannot make your own decisions.
• A personal directive lets you choose another person, an agent, to act on your behalf and make decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself.
• Making a personal directive is optional and voluntary.
• It can't used to request assisted suicide, euthanasia or anything else illegal.

Why is a personal directive necessary?

Relatives and friends do not have a legal right to make decisions for another adult, unless they have a court order allowing them to do so.

Who will benefit if I make a personal directive?

You.

If you are 18 years of age or over and currently able to make your own decisions, you can gain greater control over your future personal matters by making a personal directive.

Your family and friends.

If you have a personal directive, the people who care about you can feel confident that the decisions made on your behalf are what you want. Personal directives can ease the stress in stressful times.

Service providers.

People like doctors, nurses, lawyers and residential care providers who give you care and services will be able to rely on your written instructions or instructions provided by your agent.

What kind of instructions can I leave in a personal directive?

Your instructions can be about any or all personal matters that are non-financial such as:

• medical treatments you would or would not want,
• where you would like to live,
• who you would like to live with, and
• choices about other personal activities (recreation, employment or education)

Can I make a personal directive now?

The Personal Directives Act became law on December 1, 1997.

In order to be valid a personal directive must be signed, witnessed, and dated after the Act became law.

If you already have a living will or an advanced directive, it should be redone according to the requirements of the Act to ensure it's valid.

What are my options for future planning?

If you wish to plan in advance, you may want to:

• write a personal directive (for non-financial matters);
• write an enduring power of attorney (for financial matters);
• write a will (to plan for financial and personal assets after death).

What are the differences between a personal directive, guardianship, enduring power of attorney, and trusteeship?

	Decisions made by yourself in advance	Decisions are made for you by the court
Financial Decisions	enduring power of attorney	trusteeship
Personal Decisions	personal directive	guardianship

The court would only award guardianship or trusteeship if a person was incompetent, and had not written a personal directive or an enduring power of attorney. Needless to say going to court for an order is time consuming, complicated and costly. Writing an enduring power of attorney and personal directive is not.

Where can I get additional information?

There are three self-help booklets available from the government, for copies of this information of for more information call the Office of the Public Guardian at 427-7945, for toll free service outside of Edmonton, dial 310-0000 and ask for 427-7945.

Consult with your lawyer.