Power of Attorney Abuse in Ontario — Your Rights & Remedies 

Power of attorney abuse is one of the most serious and most common forms of elder financial exploitation in Ontario. It happens quietly, often within families, and by the time it is discovered the damage can be significant.

A power of attorney is a legal document that gives one person (the attorney) the authority to make decisions on behalf of another person (the grantor).

Ontario recognizes two types:

Continuing Power of Attorney for Property
Gives the attorney authority to manage the grantor’s financial affairs: bank accounts, investments, real estate, and other assets. The word “continuing” means it remains valid even if the grantor becomes mentally incapable, which is precisely when it is most vulnerable to abuse.

Power of Attorney for Personal Care
Gives the attorney authority to make decisions about the grantor’s health care, housing, nutrition, and personal welfare when the grantor cannot make those decisions themselves.

Abuse occurs when an attorney uses their authority for personal gain or acts in a way that harms the grantor. It does not always look like outright theft; it can be subtle, gradual, and difficult to see from the outside.

Common signs of power of attorney abuse:

• Unexplained withdrawals from the grantor’s bank accounts;
• Using the grantor’s funds for personal use;
• Isolating the grantor from other family members to prevent scrutiny;
• Refusing to account for how the grantor’s money has been spent;

 An attorney acting under a power of attorney cannot gift the grantor’s money to themselves, unless the power of attorney document explicitly authorizes gifts and the gift falls within those specific terms.

Ontario’s Substitute Decisions Act requires an attorney to act in the grantor’s best interests and to preserve the grantor’s estate for the grantor’s benefit. Gifting assets to oneself is the opposite of that. It is a breach of the attorney’s fiduciary duty (and possibly fraud).

Even where a power of attorney document contains a gift clause, gifts must be reasonable in the circumstances and consistent with the grantor’s prior patterns of giving. 

Power of attorney abuse can give rise to both civil liability and criminal consequences, depending on the nature and severity of the conduct.

Civil consequences:

• The attorney can be ordered to repay every dollar taken improperly with interest;
• The court can revoke the power of attorney entirely;
• The attorney can be removed and replaced with a court-appointed guardian;
• The court can freeze the attorney’s access to the grantor’s assets immediately;
• The attorney can be held personally liable for all losses caused by the breach.

Criminal consequences:
Under Canada’s Criminal Code, power of attorney abuse that involves fraud, theft, or criminal breach of trust can result in criminal charges. 

Where power of attorney abuse is serious, contested, or involves significant assets, court proceedings become necessary. Ontario courts have broad jurisdiction to:

• Order a passing of accounts requiring the attorney to provide a complete financial accounting to the court;
• Revoke the power of attorney and appoint a replacement;
• Freeze assets to prevent further dissipation while the dispute is resolved;
• Order repayment of all amounts taken improperly;
• Award damages for losses caused by the breach of fiduciary duty;
• Refer the matter to police or the Crown where criminal conduct is involved.

Courts take these cases seriously, particularly where the grantor is elderly, vulnerable, or no longer capable of protecting their own interests.

At Pinto Shekib LLP, we act for families, beneficiaries, and grantors in power of attorney abuse cases across Ontario — including urgent applications to freeze assets, passing of accounts proceedings, and attorney removal applications. Contact us at 416.901.9984 or info@pintoshekib.ca.