When a person  suffers a serious spinal cord injury due to a car accident it may become impossible for the claimant to physically sign over authority to trusted family members. The victim of personal injury may still be legally competent but simply cannot physically take care of their day to day living needs or take the necessary steps in their ICBC personal injury claim. In British Columbia personal injury lawyers can  help injury claimants and their families choose between Adult Guardianship and Legal Representation under the Representation Act.

A representation agreement can allow more than one person to assist. One representative can be appointed to help make decisions about routine management of financial affairs, and another can be appointed to obtain legal services and instruct a personal injury lawyer with respect to ICBC claims or other personal injury claims. There are strict limitations on who can be a representative and whether the representative can make decisions without unanimity. It’s best to hire a lawyer to draft the documents necessary for the representation agreement to be effective and valid.

The great thing about Representation Agreements is that they DO NOT deprive the injury claimant of the ability to make decisions about their ICBC personal injury case, if capable, despite a representative may have been authorized to make that same decision. The claimant maintains their legal right to make decisions and allows them to change the agreement whenever they choose. 

The following activities are considered “routine management of financial affairs”: Read the rest of this entry »