Can my attorney for personal care prevent others from visiting me in a care facility?

An attorney for personal care in Ontario has authority over decisions that affect your personal safety and well-being, and in some circumstances this can extend to decisions about who has contact with you. However, this is a sensitive area that must be exercised carefully.

A care facility operator — not your attorney — typically controls physical access to the building. What your attorney can do is make representations to the facility about what is in your best interest, including whether certain visitors may cause you distress or harm. Facilities take substitute decision-maker input seriously, particularly when the attorney can point to documented concerns about a visitor's impact on your health or safety.

However, Ontario law does not give an attorney for personal care unlimited power to cut off family access. A family member who is being denied visits to an incapacitated relative may apply to the Consent and Capacity Board or to a court for access. The Board and courts balance the person's safety and known wishes against family members' rights to maintain relationships.

If your attorney makes decisions about visitors out of personal conflict rather than genuine concern for your best interests, that can be grounds for the attorney to be removed. The safest approach is to document in your wishes document your preferences about visitors and social relationships so your attorney has clear direction and courts can assess whether they are following your wishes.