Need to Help a Family Member Make Personal or Financial Decisions? Learn About Guardianship and Trusteeship Applications
In Alberta, the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act (AGTA) provides a range of options to support adults who need help making personal or financial decisions. These supports are designed for individuals who may lack the capacity to make decisions due to illness, disability, or age.
Guardianship and Trusteeship Applications allow the court to appoint a trusted person or institution to make decisions on behalf of an adult who is unable to do so themselves. Guardians typically make personal decisions, while Trustees are responsible for managing financial matters.
Guardianship
Guardianship allows specific persons or institutions to make personal decisions for the represented adult, which may include decisions about healthcare, living arrangements, and participation in social activities.
An adult who needs assistance with decision-making involving personal decisions but does not require a full Guardianship Application can be assisted by supported decision-making, co-decision-making, or specific-decision-making assistance, which requires formal documentation.
For example, even when an adult can make his/her own decisions, there may be times when he/she needs someone to help them make personal decisions not related to financial matters. This is called supported decision-making. The person providing supported decision-making can assist the adult by communicating the adult’s questions, concerns, and decisions to service providers.
Co-decision-making authority allows a person to assist an adult who needs help with making personal decisions on his/her own. The co-decision-maker and adult work through decisions together – and the adult makes the final decision.
If an adult has lost the ability to consent to healthcare treatment or to decide where he/she lives, a healthcare provider can choose one of the adult’s relatives to make the decision. Specific decision-making is only used when there is no decision maker in place – through Guardianship or an agent under a Personal Directive.
Free Consultation
If you have a family member who needs assistance in making personal and/or financial decisions, please contact us for a free consultation at: (403) 288-0009 or by email at murray@bodnaruklaw.com
Applying for Guardianship and Trusteeship can be complicated. It is important to have someone on your side who knows the law. Bodnaruk Law is open and transparent about the process and our fees. We can help you with decisions involving the care and protection of your loved ones who are no longer able to make decisions for themselves.
Trusteeship
Trusteeship allows the appointment of specific persons or institutions to manage the financial affairs of the represented adult, including paying bills, paying medical expenses, managing investments, filing income tax returns, and applying for financial benefits such as Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH), Old Age Security (OAS), and Alberta’s Senior Benefit.
You can apply to become both a Guardian, a Trustee, or both at the same time. The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee is a government agency responsible for ensuring the rights and interests of represented adults are protected and that Guardians and Trustees carry out their responsibilities to the represented adults according to the law.
The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act (AGTA) allows emergency applications in cases when important personal or financial decisions need to be made quickly on behalf of someone who is incapable of doing so. The Act states an interested person may apply to the court for an Urgent Order appointing a Guardian, a Trustee, or both. This is appropriate when someone has reason to believe an adult is in immediate danger of physical or mental harm and/or immediate danger of suffering a serious financial loss, the adult is incapable of making sound decisions to protect him/herself, and an emergency Guardianship and/or Trusteeship order is necessary to protect the adult.
