Did you know? Until late 2025, a resident of Prince Edward Island could appoint someone to manage their money but had no statutory way to appoint someone to decide where they would live or what care they would receive. That gap closed on November 1, 2025, when the Powers of Attorney and Personal Directives Act came into force and repealed legislation that had gone largely untouched for decades.
The change is not cosmetic. It renames the parties, introduces an entirely new document, imposes disqualifications that did not exist before, and creates duties that cannot be contracted out of. Anyone whose estate planning file was assembled before that date is working from a framework that no longer matches the statute.
This article explains what a power of attorney covers under the current legislation, what a personal directive adds, who is now barred from acting, what happened to documents signed under the old rules, and what has to be done before either document can be used outside the country.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
PLEASE NOTE! If you urgently need to use a power of attorney in another country, we have a way to quickly legalize this document regardless of the Canadian province in which it was issued.
The fastest way to obtain an apostille is in Ontario — this can be done within a couple of days, compared to weeks in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and so on. But to legalize a power of attorney in Ontario, does this document have to be issued in that province? Yes, but it is also acceptable to obtain an apostille for a notarized copy of this document made in Ontario. This makes it very easy and legal to speed up the possibility of using this document in any country in the world, literally dozens of times over.
The Vocabulary Changed First
Terminology in the Act is precise, and using the wrong word in correspondence with a bank slows everything down.
- The person who makes either document is the principal
- A person appointed to handle financial matters is an attorney
- A person designated in a personal directive to decide personal matters is an agent
One person can hold both roles for the same principal. An adult — anyone 18 or older — with capacity may act, subject to the disqualifications set out below.
What a Power of Attorney Covers in PEI
The document must be in writing. Where a form is prescribed, using it is not mandatory, so a tailored document remains the norm.
A principal may appoint one or more attorneys, and the document directs whether they act together, separately or alternately. Once a power of attorney is in effect, it is sufficient authority for an attorney to make any decision about the principal’s financial affairs that the principal could lawfully make through an attorney, subject to conditions or restrictions written into it or imposed by the Act.
Enduring Authority
An enduring power of attorney is a power of attorney expressed to take effect on the incapacity of the principal in respect of financial matters. That is the version most people want, because an ordinary appointment lapses precisely when substitute decision-making becomes necessary.
Access to the Will
A notable addition: where the document authorizes it, anyone holding a copy of the principal’s will — including a lawyer — must provide access to it on the attorney’s request. Estate planning and financial administration were previously separated by a wall that occasionally made an attorney’s job impossible.
Duties That Come With the Appointment
Holding a power of attorney is a fiduciary position, not a convenience. The person named is expected to act within the four corners of the document, keep that property separate from their own, maintain records adequate to explain every transaction, and step back from anything the document does not authorize.
Two mechanisms give that expectation teeth. First, an interested person can seek a determination of the principal’s capacity — or of another attorney’s capacity — rather than being told to accept someone’s word for it. Second, the Act provides for an accounting, either on request or by court order, with protection for those who respond in good faith. An attorney who has kept clean records has nothing to fear from either; one who has not will discover the difference quickly.
Personal Directives: the New Document
A personal directive is where an agent is appointed to make decisions about personal matters — accommodation, nutrition, social contact, care arrangements and related questions that money alone does not settle. It must be in writing, a prescribed form is optional rather than compulsory, and one or more agents may be named.
Both documents are executed under the same statutory formalities, which keeps the process manageable when they are prepared together. Most files should now contain three instruments rather than two: a will, a power of attorney, and a personal directive.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.
Key Changes Worth Acting On
Who Can No Longer Act
Stricter requirements now apply to bankruptcies and to criminal convictions within the previous ten years, and they can disqualify someone from acting as an attorney or agent without anyone intending that result. A trusted family member named years ago may quietly have become ineligible.
No Contracting Out
The Act contains a provision preventing anyone from contracting out of its requirements. Clauses in older precedents that varied statutory duties simply do not operate.
Oversight Is Tighter
The direction of travel matches reforms elsewhere in Atlantic Canada — New Brunswick took a similar step in 2020 — toward closer supervision of anyone holding a power of attorney or acting as an agent.
Older Documents Remain Valid
There is no need for alarm about paperwork already signed. A document executed in accordance with the repealed legislation is deemed valid under the current Act. That said, two things are worth doing: confirm your appointed attorney is not caught by the new disqualifications, and create a personal directive, which was not previously possible here.
What to Check Before You Sign
- Whether the person you have in mind is caught by the bankruptcy or conviction disqualifications
- Whether attorneys are to act together, separately or alternately, and what happens if one cannot act
- Whether the document should authorize access to your will
- Whether an alternate should be named, so that a court application is not the only remaining option
- Whether both documents name the same person or deliberately different ones
A short conversation on these five points at the drafting stage prevents most of the disputes that surface years later, usually at the worst moment for the family involved.
Getting the Documents Apostilled
Where an attorney has to deal with a bank, registry or lawyer in another country, the paperwork needs an apostille — the certificate confirming that a signature and seal on a Canadian document are genuine.
Notarization Comes First
A private document is not eligible on its own. It must be notarized by a Canadian notary public whose specimen signature is registered with the authority that will issue the certificate.
Which Office Handles PEI Documents
The province has no apostille authority of its own. Documents issued or notarized in the province are processed by Global Affairs Canada through its Authentication Services Section in Ottawa, which also covers federal records and the remaining provinces and territories without their own office. Where the notarization happened in Ontario, Alberta or Saskatchewan, that province’s authority takes the file instead — the notary’s location decides.
Why Files Get Returned
- Photocopies instead of originals carrying a wet seal
- A notary whose signature is not on record with the authority
- Pages not securely fastened together
- Laminated or coated paper that will not take a stamp
- No certified translation where the destination requires one
- A destination outside the Hague Convention, where consular legalization still applies
Need Help With a Power of Attorney Apostille?
Drafting belongs with a local solicitor who can assist with the choices the Act now offers. What follows — notarization, authentication, apostille and, where required, legalization at a consulate — is a separate exercise governed by federal requirements rather than provincial ones.
Since 2009, Legalization Service Centre has assisted clients with apostille, authentication and legalization of Canadian documents. With more than 15 years of experience, our team handles power of attorney files, corporate records and personal certificates for clients across the country.
Get Your Documents Ready for International Use
The Act gave residents more control over how decisions are made on their behalf, and more ways to get the paperwork wrong. Reviewing what you signed before November 2025, adding a personal directive, and confirming that the people you appointed can still act are all worth an afternoon.
Whether you need notarization, an apostille, a certified translation, or a Canadian criminal record check, Legalization Service Centre can guide you through every stage. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Need help with document apostille/legalization/authentication/attestation — and/or criminal record check in Canada? Contact us via our form, call us at +1-613-501-0555 (WhatsApp available) or +1-800-857-1215 (toll-free), fax us via 1-844-786-2001, or text us at info@lsccanada.ca.