Can I pay my attorney for personal care in Ontario?

Unlike the rules for attorneys for property, there is no default statutory compensation framework for attorneys for personal care in Ontario — the Substitute Decisions Act does not set out a fee schedule for personal care attorneys the way it does for property attorneys.

This means your attorney for personal care typically serves without pay unless you make specific arrangements. Some people include a gift in their will as a way of acknowledging the service their attorney provided. Others include a specific compensation provision in the power of attorney document itself.

However, there is an important restriction: a person cannot serve as your attorney for personal care if they receive compensation for providing health care, residential care, or social care to you — unless they are your spouse, partner, or a relative. This restriction exists to prevent conflicts of interest. A paid caregiver who is also making your health care decisions is in a potentially conflicted position.

Compensation arrangements for personal care attorneys are not commonly built into POA documents, partly because the role is generally seen as a labor of love. But if you have a complex situation — for example, an attorney who may need to take significant time away from work to manage your care — discussing whether some form of recognition is appropriate with a lawyer is worthwhile.