Committeeship Of the Person and of the Estate
Committeeship is a legal appointment by the British Columbia Supreme Court, of one or more individuals or organizations to manage an incapable person’s finances, health related decisions, or both. It is often a last resort and is usually only necessary where a person did not make a power of attorney, representation agreement or other legal document appointing while they were still capable.
it costs significantly more than making a Power of Attorney and is a more burdensome process as there is often a requirement to periodically report financial decisions to the Public Guardian and Trustee’s Office.
Committeeship usually continues until a grant of probate is finalized at which time an Executor or Administrator takes over in succession from the appointed Committee.
Types of Committees
- C0mmittee of person – Can make only personal and medical decisions, including decisions about where the person will live or whether to accept health care treatment. Usually a family member or close friend will fill this role. Only the court can appoint a committee of person.
- A committee of estate – Can make only financial and legal decisions. A family member or close friend, a trust company, or the Public Guardian and Trustee of BC can fill this role. A committee of estate can be appointed by the court. The Public Guardian and Trustee can also be appointed as committee of estate by a certificate of incapability under the Adult Guardianship Act. No one else can be appointed this way.
Often, people lose capacity to manage their financial and legal affairs before they lose capacity to manage themselves, so a committee of estate is more common that a committee of person. For example, a person may know how to cook and bathe, but not how to handle banking and legal affairs.
The general process for a committeeship
You might want to be a committee if one of your family members or close friends has lost the mental capacity to make important decisions and you want to help.
To become a committee, you must apply to the BC Supreme Court to be appointed by an order under the Patients Property Act. But first, you must confirm that the person is mentally incapable. The person’s doctor may be able to help you do that. A committee can be appointed only if two doctors say the person is mentally incapable.
Open Door Law Corporation can help you with the required court documents. If you’re applying to be committee of estate, the doctors’ statements must say the person is not able to manage their financial and legal affairs and explain why. If you’re applying to be committee of person, the doctors’ statements must say the person cannot manage their personal and medical decisions and explain why.
The person must be notified of your court application unless the doctors say it would be harmful to them. Sometimes the person will oppose the application. You should also notify the person’s family members, and if you can, get their consent to your application.
Depending on the value of a person’s assets and income, and other circumstances, the court may order you, as committee, to post a security bond. The security bond and other expenses a committee incurs acting for the person usually comes out of the person’s (and not the committee’s) pocket.
We are here to help
If you believe that a family member or friend can no longer make decisions to properly manage their affairs or personal care, and therefore needs to have a committee appointed, contact Open Door Law to assist with the process. Book an appointment »
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