In London, Ontario, being named power of attorney (POA) for a parent, spouse, or family member means you may become legally responsible for decisions about their home — including whether to sell it, when, and for how much.
According to the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, a POA for property grants broad authority over real estate decisions while the principal is living.
When that responsibility arrives without warning, most families are unprepared. Ty Lacroix, Broker at The Envelope Real Estate Group, has guided families through POA-related real estate transitions in London for 24 years.
Someone you love and trust just asked you to be their power of attorney.
Maybe it was your mother, sitting at the kitchen table after a doctor's visit. Maybe it was your spouse, updating their paperwork before a surgery. Maybe it came in a letter from a sibling you haven't spoken to in years.
You said yes — because of course you did. But now you're wondering what you actually agreed to, especially if a home is involved.
What Power of Attorney Actually Means
A power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes you — the attorney — to make decisions on behalf of another person, called the principal, while they are still living. The moment they pass away, the POA ends entirely. At that point, the estate takes over, and a different process begins.
For property specifically, a continuing power of attorney for property in Ontario gives you the authority to buy, sell, manage, or make decisions about the principal's real estate. That includes their home.
This is not a small responsibility.
Where Families Get Into Trouble
The most common mistake is assuming the POA document alone is enough to move forward. It isn't.
In Ontario, before any real estate transaction can proceed under a POA, the document must be in registrable form — meaning it meets specific legal standards for execution and witnessing. A title insurer, lender, and the Land Registry Office will each review it. If the document was downloaded from the internet or prepared without a lawyer, there is a real chance it will be rejected at closing.
According to the Law Society of Ontario, POA documents used in real estate transactions must be carefully reviewed by a real estate lawyer before any listing agreement is signed or an offer is accepted. Getting this wrong can delay a sale by weeks or invalidate a transaction entirely.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Here's a situation that happens more often than most families expect.
A parent moves into assisted living. The adult child holding the POA decides it's time to sell the family home in Byron or Riverbend — the home that's been in the family for 30 years. They call a realtor, sign a listing agreement, and accept an offer.
Then the purchaser's lawyer flags the POA. The document has a springing clause — meaning it only activates if the principal is declared medically incapacitated, which was never formally documented. The sale stalls. The buyer walks. The family is left managing an empty home, carrying costs, and starting over.
This is not a rare outcome. It is predictable and almost entirely avoidable.
The Three Questions to Ask Before Anything Else
If you're holding a POA and a home is involved, these are the questions that matter before any real estate conversation happens:
Is the POA document in registrable form in Ontario? Have a real estate lawyer confirm this — not a general lawyer, not the family's estate lawyer from another province. A lawyer familiar with Ontario land registration requirements.
Does the document have any conditions or springing clauses? If the POA only activates under specific circumstances, confirm that those circumstances are documented and can be proven.
Are there other attorneys named? If two people hold the POA jointly, both must sign every document. One signature is not enough and will not be accepted.
Where a Broker Fits In
A realtor does not determine whether a POA is valid. That is a lawyer's job, and any broker who tells you otherwise is creating liability for themselves and risk for you.
What a broker does is help you understand what the property is worth in today's London, Ontario market, how current buyer behaviour in your neighbourhood affects timing and pricing, and what a realistic sale looks like given the specific circumstances — a home that may be vacant, estate-condition, or carrying deferred maintenance from years of a parent living alone.
In the $700,000 to $1.2 million range, where most of these family homes sit in established London neighbourhoods, the difference between a well-positioned sale and a poorly timed one can be $40,000 to $80,000. That gap belongs to the family — or it doesn't, depending on the decisions made in the first 30 days.
If You're in This Situation Right Now
You don't need to have everything figured out before reaching out. Most people in this position are managing a parent's health, a family's emotions, and a legal document they've never seen before — all at the same time.
What helps is a straight read on where the property actually stands in today's market, before any decisions are made. That conversation costs nothing and takes 20 minutes.

