Public Guardian and Trustee in Yukon: Fees, Powers, and When They Step In

What the PGT Does

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee in Whitehorse is a government office that protects the financial and personal interests of adults who cannot protect themselves. It is not a voluntary service families sign up for — the PGT steps in when the legal system determines that an incapable adult has no one else in a position to manage their affairs.

The PGT acts in three primary roles: statutory property guardian (triggered by a Certificate of Need for Financial Protection), court-appointed guardian of last resort (when no family member or friend applies for guardianship), and oversight body (reviewing financial accounts submitted by private guardians appointed by the Supreme Court).

How the PGT Gets Involved

The most common trigger is a Certificate of Need for Financial Protection issued under Section 61 of the Care Consent Act. When a healthcare provider assesses a patient as incapable of managing their finances, they can issue this certificate. It activates the PGT as the statutory property guardian automatically — no court application, no hearing, no family consent required.

This emergency mechanism lasts up to 60 days. During that period, the PGT can access the person's bank accounts, pay bills, collect pensions, manage real estate, and file taxes. It is a short-term bridge, so the family must arrange a longer-term legal solution before the certificate expires.

A separate route is court-appointed guardianship. If no family member or friend is willing or able to apply, the PGT may act as guardian of last resort.

PGT Fee Schedule

The PGT charges statutory fees for managing an adult's estate. These are set by regulation and are not negotiable:

• 2.5% on capital receipts — money coming into the estate (pension income, investment returns, property sale proceeds)
• 2.5% on disbursements — money going out (rent, bills, care facility fees, medical expenses)
• 0.5% annual asset management fee — calculated on the total value of managed assets

For a parent receiving CPP and OAS totalling $1,800 per month and paying $1,217 in long-term care fees, the PGT's monthly charges work out to roughly $45 on receipts and $30 on disbursements. The annual management fee depends on the total estate value — for a $200,000 estate, it is $1,000 per year.

These fees come out of the adult's own estate, not from the family. But they accumulate over time, and families often find them frustrating because the PGT's financial management is conservative and procedural — it prioritizes protection over flexibility.

What the PGT Does Not Do

The PGT's authority as a statutory property guardian is strictly financial. It covers bank accounts, pensions, taxes, bill payments, real estate, and investment management.

It does not cover healthcare decisions or personal care decisions. Medical consent, facility admission, and care preferences remain under the TSDM hierarchy of the Care Consent Act (or a proxy named in an Advance Directive). The PGT can pay the bills for long-term care, but it cannot consent to the admission itself.

The PGT also does not provide social support, companionship, or advocacy for the person's living conditions. Its role is financial stewardship — ensuring money is managed responsibly and the adult's assets are not dissipated or stolen.

When the PGT Investigates Abuse

Beyond its property guardian role, the PGT can investigate financial mismanagement and freeze assets during an active inquiry. If a family member, healthcare worker, or institution reports concerns about how a currently active EPA attorney or representative is managing an adult's finances, the PGT can:

• Investigate the financial records and accounts
• Freeze assets during an active inquiry

This financial-investigation role is separate from the PGT's role as a property guardian.

Avoiding PGT Involvement

For most families, PGT involvement is neither desired nor necessary. The PGT is a safety net for people who have no one else — or whose existing decision-makers have failed them.

The simplest way to avoid PGT involvement in a parent's financial affairs is to execute an Enduring Power of Attorney while the parent still has capacity. A valid EPA designates a trusted family member as the financial decision-maker, and the PGT's statutory guardianship does not activate when a functioning EPA already covers the person's financial management.

The Yukon Power of Attorney & Personal Directive Kit covers the EPA and Advance Directive together because the PGT gap — financial authority without healthcare authority, or vice versa — is exactly the vulnerability that leaves families dependent on government systems they did not choose.

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