Joint Power of Attorney Alberta: Appointing Co-Attorneys

How Joint Power of Attorney Works in Alberta

Under the Powers of Attorney Act, a donor can appoint more than one attorney to manage their financial affairs. How those co-attorneys share authority depends entirely on how the EPA is drafted. Alberta recognizes three structures:

Jointly: Both (or all) attorneys must agree on and sign off on every decision. Neither can act alone. If one attorney becomes unavailable, incapacitated, or refuses to act, the entire EPA is paralyzed unless the document names an alternate.

Severally: Each attorney can act independently. Either one can walk into a bank, sign a cheque, or authorize a transaction without the other's knowledge or consent. Faster and more practical, but with less built-in oversight.

Jointly and severally: The attorneys can act together or independently. This gives maximum flexibility — routine transactions can be handled by whichever attorney is available, while major decisions (selling real property, moving large sums) can involve both.

If the EPA appoints multiple attorneys but does not clearly specify how they may act, the document may not operate as intended. Specify whether authority is joint, several, or joint and several.

When Co-Attorneys Make Sense

Families appoint co-attorneys for two main reasons: fairness and oversight.

Fairness among siblings: When a parent has two or three adult children, appointing only one can cause resentment, suspicion, or accusations of favouritism. Naming co-attorneys distributes the responsibility and creates transparency.

Built-in accountability: Joint authority means one sibling cannot unilaterally move money, sell property, or change investments without the other's agreement. This protects the parent and protects each attorney from accusations of self-dealing.

But co-attorney arrangements only work when the appointed individuals can cooperate. If siblings have a history of conflict, joint authority turns every financial decision into a potential deadlock — and the parent's bills do not wait for siblings to agree.

The Deadlock Problem

Joint co-attorneys who disagree on a decision have no built-in tiebreaker under the Powers of Attorney Act. The options when deadlocked:

• Mediation: Voluntary, but both parties must agree to participate.
• Court application: Either attorney can apply to the Court of King's Bench for direction. This costs $2,000–$5,000+ in legal fees and takes months.
• Suspected abuse: The OPGT does not investigate financial abuse by an attorney acting under a private EPA. Contact police and consider retaining an estate litigator; OPGT complaint routes cover court-appointed guardians and trustees and agents under Personal Directives.

During the deadlock, the parent's affairs are effectively frozen. Mortgage payments, care facility fees, utility bills, and property taxes still come due.

Practical Drafting Tips

If you are setting up a joint EPA in Alberta:

• Specify "jointly and severally" for routine matters and "jointly" only for major decisions above a defined threshold (e.g., transactions over $10,000 or real property dealings).
• Name an alternate attorney who steps in if one co-attorney dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns.
• Include a dispute resolution clause requiring mediation before court application.
• Define communication requirements — co-attorneys should agree on how they will share information about transactions and decisions.

The Powers of Attorney Act requires every attorney to act in the donor's best interest, keep proper records, and avoid conflicts of interest. Co-attorneys share these duties equally, and each should keep records of their own actions.

Our Alberta Power of Attorney & Personal Directive Kit includes co-attorney drafting templates with both jointly-and-severally and threshold-based structures, plus a communication protocol checklist for siblings sharing authority.

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