Ontario Power of Attorney Compensation

[INXS]

Ontario, Canada.
My brother was POA (property & personal) for my mom for about 10 years. He is demanding a lot of money in compensation. He did look after payments to a private nursing home for my mom for about 4 years & then for about 6 years at a gov't run chronic care hospital. My mom's accountant did her taxes & my mom's lawyer (who are also my brother's lawyer & acct.) have been paid from the estate which originally was about $1,000,000.
My sister & I will split what now remains of the estate as my brother received his 1/3rd share (the shares of a family business) years ago.
I don't think the POA states anything about compensation.
Generally & legally what do you think his maximum fee should be?
Thx.

[AFFA]

Re: Ontario Power of Attorney Compensation

I wish to inform you that generally POA holder can charge fees if such a thing is allowed to him while appointing him as POA holder. As while taking POA your brother has not declared any fees thus now he may not demand fees. You and your sister can contest any of the charges of your brother on the ground that such charges are unauthorized. Further if your brother refuses then you may go to court and have court order.

AFF

[INXS]

Re: Ontario Power of Attorney Compensation

Hi AFF,
Not sure I understand as I found this on the website of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.
It does not seem to mention any limits there to his compensation.

"Compensation
As a guardian of property, you may be paid for your work. The annual compensation that you are allowed to take is set out in a fee scale in Ontario Regulation 159/00 that is outlined below. This scale determines the amount of compensation you may take and the method you shall use to calculate that amount. You may take more compensation than the amount prescribed by the fee scale if you receive written consent from the Public Guardian and Trustee AND the incapable person’s guardian of the person or attorney under a power of attorney for personal care, if he or she has one. You should speak with a lawyer or an accountant to receive advice on how to calculate these fees."

Fee Scale:
As a guardian of property, effective April 1, 2000 for all new transactions, you are entitled to compensation of:

3% on capital and income received by you;
3% on capital and income disbursements; and
3/5ths of 1% of the annual average value of the assets (this is called the care and management fee).
Note that for transactions prior to April 1, 2000 fees were 2.5% on capital and income received by you and on capital and income disbursements, and 2/5 of 1% of the annual average value of the assets

Capital received by you includes the incapable person’s property that you locate, secure and manage for the incapable person such as real estate, bank accounts and guaranteed investment certificates.

Income received by you on behalf of the incapable person may include pensions, government benefits, dividends, interest and rent.

A capital disbursement on behalf of an incapable person may include buying an asset on his or her behalf, such as buying a house or investing in Canada Savings Bonds.

An income disbursement on behalf of an incapable person is a payment made on behalf of the person, for items such as rent, utilities, food, clothing or housekeeping services.

[Friend In Court]

Re: Ontario Power of Attorney Compensation

Ontario, Canada.
My brother was POA (property & personal) for my mom for about 10 years. He is demanding a lot of money in compensation. He did look after payments to a private nursing home for my mom for about 4 years & then for about 6 years at a gov't run chronic care hospital. My mom's accountant did her taxes & my mom's lawyer (who are also my brother's lawyer & acct.) have been paid from the estate which originally was about $1,000,000.
My sister & I will split what now remains of the estate as my brother received his 1/3rd share (the shares of a family business) years ago.
I don't think the POA states anything about compensation.
Generally & legally what do you think his maximum fee should be?
Thx.

There is no way to determine the amount of compensation the brother should receive without knowing in detail what services he performed for your mother and whether or not the power of attorney provided for same. Let an attorney calculate the proper fee based upon the assets and work done.

My recommendation is that you provide a lawyer, preferably one whose practice is probate and trust, with a copy of the POA, details and retain the lawyer to make sure there is an equitable division of the estate -- and no one unjustly enriches themself at the expense of the other heirs.