Attorney for Property Duties and Record-Keeping in Ontario

You've been named as someone's attorney for property. Maybe it's your aging parent, a spouse, or a close friend. You accepted because you wanted to help — but now the role feels more serious than you expected. What exactly are you required to do? What records do you have to keep? And what happens if something goes wrong?

Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act sets out clear duties for anyone acting as an attorney for property. These are not suggestions. They are legal obligations, and failing to meet them can expose you to personal financial liability — even when your intentions were completely good.

This article walks through what the law actually requires, and what a solid record-keeping system looks like in practice.

Your core duty: acting in the grantor's best interests

The most fundamental obligation of an attorney for property is to act in the best interests of the person who gave you the authority — the grantor. This is a fiduciary duty, which means the law holds you to a higher standard than an ordinary business relationship. You are not acting for yourself. You are a steward of someone else's financial life.

Acting in the grantor's best interests means:

• Making financial decisions that serve their needs, not yours
• Being prudent and careful with their assets — not speculative
• Avoiding conflicts of interest (more on this below)
• Using their funds only for permitted purposes

If the grantor has expressed wishes about how they want their money managed, those wishes carry significant weight. The Substitute Decisions Act requires attorneys to consider the grantor's values and history of decision-making, not just what seems financially efficient.

The duty to foster independence

Many people are surprised to learn that an attorney for property has an explicit duty to encourage the grantor's independence. This means you should not take over decision-making simply because you can. If the grantor is capable of making some financial decisions — even minor ones — you should support that, not undermine it.

This duty also means you should explain what you are doing with their finances and keep them informed wherever possible. The role is meant to assist, not to replace, the grantor's own voice.

Duty to consult with the personal care team

If the grantor also has a guardian of personal care or an attorney for personal care, you are required to consult with that person when their decisions might affect your role. For example, if a personal care decision involves housing, that affects finances — and the two of you need to communicate.

This duty to coordinate exists because financial and personal care decisions are often intertwined. An attorney for property who operates in isolation, without ever speaking to the person managing the grantor's day-to-day care, is likely not meeting their obligations under the Substitute Decisions Act.

Record-keeping: the obligation in plain terms

Here is where many attorneys fall short — not out of dishonesty, but out of not knowing what "proper records" actually means.

The Substitute Decisions Act requires you to keep accounts. This means a written record of every financial transaction you make on the grantor's behalf. Not a rough summary. Not a mental note. A documented, organized ledger.

Your records must include:

• Every deposit and withdrawal from the grantor's accounts
• Every bill you paid, with the date and amount
• Every sale or purchase of an asset (property, investments, vehicles)
• Any income received on the grantor's behalf (pension, rental income, government benefits)
• All receipts and supporting documents

This is not optional record-keeping. If a court, a family member, or the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee asks to see your accounts, you must be able to produce them.

Keeping money separate

This rule is absolute: the grantor's money is not your money. You must keep their funds entirely separate from your own — separate bank accounts, separate investment accounts, separate everything.

Commingling funds is one of the most serious mistakes an attorney can make. Even if you intend to sort it out later, mixing your money with the grantor's creates an immediate presumption that something improper happened. Courts take this seriously. So should you.

If you need to pay yourself back for out-of-pocket expenses you paid on the grantor's behalf, document the reimbursement with receipts and a clear note. Do not simply transfer money without a paper trail.

Annual accounting and formal reviews

In some circumstances — particularly if required by the power of attorney document itself, or if someone applies to the court — you may be required to provide a formal annual accounting. This is a structured financial statement showing all assets, liabilities, income, and expenses for the period.

Even if no formal accounting is demanded, maintaining your records as if one could be requested at any time is good practice. It protects you and demonstrates that you have done your job properly.

What happens if you fail to keep records

Failing to keep proper accounts is not just a technicality. It has real consequences:

Personal liability. If the grantor's estate loses money and you cannot show how or why, you may be personally required to repay those funds. The burden of proof shifts to you to show your actions were appropriate — and without records, you cannot meet that burden.

Court proceedings. Family members or the Public Guardian and Trustee can bring a court application to have you removed as attorney and compelled to account for missing funds.

Reputational consequences. In contested estate situations, poor record-keeping often looks like concealment, even when it was simply disorganization.

What a good record-keeping system looks like

You do not need expensive software. A consistent, simple system works fine. Here is what one looks like in practice:

• A dedicated binder or folder for each year, labeled with the grantor's name
• A transaction log: a running spreadsheet or handwritten ledger with date, description, amount, and running balance for every transaction
• Bank statements: printed or saved monthly, in order, without gaps
• Receipts: for every expense, even small ones — scan and save digitally or file physically
• A brief note when you make a significant decision, explaining your reasoning at the time

Reviewing your log against the bank statement monthly takes about 15 minutes and will save you enormous stress if questions arise later.

Frequently asked questions