Reporting Suspected Power of Attorney Abuse to the Public Guardian and Trustee in Ontario

Discovering that an attorney under a power of attorney might be misusing their authority — spending an incapable relative's money on themselves, moving assets they shouldn't touch, or simply refusing to account for what they've done — is one of the more distressing situations a family can face. Ontario has a public office set up specifically to receive and investigate concerns like this: the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT).

Here's what raising a concern with the PGT actually involves, and what it can and can't do for your family.

Who Can Raise a Concern, and What Counts as "Misuse"

Anyone concerned about how an attorney is exercising their authority over an incapable person's property or personal care can bring it to the PGT — you don't need to be a close relative or have formal legal standing to make an initial complaint. Misuse can include things like:

• Spending the incapable person's money for the attorney's own benefit
• Moving or gifting assets in ways that don't serve the incapable person's interests
• Refusing to provide any accounting or explanation of how funds have been used
• Isolating the incapable person from family in ways that appear to conceal what's happening
• Making major decisions that plainly conflict with what the person would have wanted

Not every disagreement about an attorney's choices is misuse — attorneys are given genuine discretion. The concern here is specifically about self-dealing, neglect, or a clear breach of the duty to act in the incapable person's best interests.

How to Raise a Concern With the PGT

1. Gather what you actually know. Write down specific concerns, dates, and any documentation you have, such as bank statements or correspondence that supports what you're describing.
2. Contact the PGT's investigations function. The PGT's office handles complaints about attorneys and guardians as part of its public role in Ontario.
3. Provide supporting documents if you have them. The more concrete detail you can offer, the more the PGT has to work with at the outset.
4. Be prepared to cooperate with follow-up. An investigation may involve further questions to you as the person who raised the concern.

What an Investigation Can Involve

The PGT's investigations function can take a range of steps depending on what a case requires, which may include reviewing financial records, requesting a formal accounting from the attorney, and, where appropriate, bringing its own court application, including to have an attorney's authority reviewed or replaced. What actually happens depends heavily on the specific facts and evidence available; there's no standard timeline or fixed sequence that applies to every complaint.

What the PGT Can — and Can't — Do

It can generally:

• Look into concerns raised about an attorney's or guardian's conduct
• Request records and explanations from the attorney
• Apply to the court itself in appropriate cases, including to seek to replace an attorney or guardian

It generally can't:

• Act as your personal lawyer or represent your individual interests in the family dispute
• Guarantee that any misused funds will be recovered
• Resolve unrelated family conflict that isn't about the attorney's conduct itself

When to Also Involve a Lawyer or the Police

Bringing a concern to the PGT doesn't have to be your only step. If you're a family member with your own potential legal claim — for example, wanting to compel a formal accounting through the court, or to have an attorney removed — a lawyer can advise on pursuing that directly, sometimes in parallel with a PGT complaint. If the conduct you're describing looks like theft or fraud, that's also a matter you can raise with police, separately from the PGT process.

Frequently asked questions