Many years ago, my widowed mother executed two Power of Attorneys: one for personal care and one for property. It was one of the best things she could have done.
Five years ago, my Mom had a debilitating stroke that left her partially paralyzed and unable to speak. As a result, her home had to be sold and I had to take over responsibility of all of her assets and 
personal care. This was easily possible because of the existing and valid Power of Attorneys; without them, the Public Guardian and Trustee for the Province would have stepped in and taken over her affairs. What a thought.
It's becoming increasingly common to see properties listed for sale with the Seller being represented by an attorney given the power to handle the transaction. As this is an area most REALTORS® don't have a great deal of training in, our real estate board recently held a training session led by local lawyer.
He explained that there are two categories of POA's; one for personal care and one for property. With respect to property specifically, there are then two types: one is a non-continuing POA which is limited and specific in purpose; for example if a seller was out of the country and unable to execute documents for a specific period of time. The second type is a continuing POA which is most common. It gives power to the named attorney (and we're not talking about a lawyer here) to do anything on the persons behalf that they could do if they were capable except make a will.
In order to be legal, POA's must meet various requirements and among them, it must be signed by the person giving the attorney power, it must be dated and two adult, arms length witnesses be present and sign.
In respect to real estate transactions, Sellers who are acting under the Power of Attorney should make sure that any conditions in the document are met and that the POA is valid as they will be responsible for the actions they take. Then they should provide an original or notarized copy of the document to their REALTOR®.
For buyers purchasing a property where the documents are executed by a POA on behalf of the property owner, it would be prudent to include a clause right in the agreement of purchase and sale having the POA warrant that the POA is indeed in full force and effect.
When it’s time to buy or sell real estate in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain or Georgian Triangle area, contact Marg, an experienced and competent Broker who’s ready whenever you are!
Marg - I think next to making sure you have one your last line is certainly the most important one to both sides of a real estate transaction
Kathy - We recently had a situation here where that clause would have made a difference. I often wonder when I see listings with POA's, if all the documents are indeed in order and this is one way to deal with it tactfully.
Marg, usually I don't have a problem with POA's (and I do check them carefully); but the one thing I see now, more and more, which really freaks me out, is looking at the seller's name (Joe Blow, under POA) and then looking at the listing agent's name, and they are exactly the same. Agents having power of attorney to sell the client's house ...
Although it is allowed, and I feel it is a total conflict of interest, this is something I think should be discontinued. We (Realtors) should not be 'allowed' to do this.
As far as the 'usual POA', I put a clause in the offer, that gives the solicitor a couple of days to verify all the documents and ensure they are in order/valid.
Sylvie, I have to say that I've never seen an agents name listed as a POA and I would agree that is cause for concern. That would fall within the category of a non-continuing power of attorney which most lawyers avoid like the plague as they give rise to a host of potential problems. In such a situation, I'd be asking to see a copy of the POA from the Brokerage and, I'd ask the Broker if they were aware that one of their salespeople has taken a listing (for the Brokerage) in their name as a POA. Great that you put a clause in the offer. I rarely see people actually do that.
Marg - Not only do you need to have them you need to make sure that the appropriate people have access to them and that they are updated as your circumstances change.
Barrie - how true! I just became aware of a very difficult situation today where somebody gave her POA to a distant relative who has fallen out of her life in the last decade or so. Now, she is suffering from dementia and the POA's appear to be taking advantage of a very sad circumstance. Everyone reading this should make sure, right now, that they have an up-to-date POA that reflects their current wishes.
Great post, Marg. I remember when the provincial government passed this law. Most people found out about it from an article in the Toronto Star. And it's surprising how many people are still not aware of it. Scary!