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In This Volume

PRACTICE ALERT: REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS EXECUTED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Section 47.1 of the Land Title Act was repealed by s. 88 of the Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007, S.B.C. 2007, c. 34 on September 1, 2011. By virtue of the transitional provisions in s. 65 of that Act, s. 44.3 of the Representation Agreement Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 405 provides that, if a representation agreement executed before September 1, 2011, authorized a representative to exercise the powers of an attorney, that part of the representation agreement is deemed to be an enduring power of attorney under Part 2 of the Power of Attorney Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 370 on and after September 1, 2011.

Under s. 51(2.1)(b) of the Land Title Act, enduring powers of attorney in a representation agreement executed before September 1, 2011, are accepted by the land title office in the same manner as an enduring power of attorney signed under s. 16(2) of the Power of Attorney Act. A representation agreement executed after September 1, 2011 may not be used for land title purposes.

The practice materials under s. 47.1 of the Land Title Act have been modified and are included in this Manual as information only with respect to representation agreements executed before September 1, 2011.

FORMS

Execution Item

See the requirements for the execution item under the “Forms” heading for s. 43 of the Act.

Forms of Officer Certification for Representatives

EXAMPLE 1: Execution by Individual Representative

EXAMPLE 2: Execution by Corporate Representative

PRACTICE

Scheme of Officer Certification

The scheme of officer certification of execution that applies under a representation agreement, with the appropriate acknowledgments pertaining to the validity of the representation agreement, is, with respect to:

  1. execution by an individual representative, the same scheme as described for s. 43; and
  2. execution by a corporate representative, the same scheme as described for s. 44.

CROSS REFERENCES AND OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Powers of Attorney

See the practice notes for individual and corporate powers of attorney under ss. 45 and 46 of the Act.

Representation Agreements

Sections 45 and 46 do not cover all of the circumstances that may arise with respect to representation agreements. As a consequence, the registrar requires a statutory declaration in a form similar to the following example:

EXAMPLE: Statutory Declaration Accompanying Representation Agreement

Execution of Representation Agreements

Execution by Adult

Prior to September 1, 2011, a representation agreement was executed by an adult in the presence of two witnesses. Section 13(3.1) of the Representation Agreement Act provided that:

  • 13 (3.1) If an instrument executed by a representative under a representation agreement made under section 9 of this Act is to be effective for the purposes of the Land Title Act,
  • (a) one of the witnesses to the execution of that agreement by the adult must be an officer as defined in section 41 of the Land Title Act, and
  • (b) the execution of the representation agreement by the adult must be witnessed or proved in the manner required for instruments by Part 5 of the Land Title Act.

Execution by Representative and Alternate Representative

Prior to September 1, 2011, a representation agreement was executed by each representative or alternate representative in the presence of two witnesses. A representative or alternate representative could not be a witness. Neither witness needed to be an officer.

Execution on Behalf of Adult Unable to Sign

Section 13(4) of the Representation Agreement Act provided that a person could execute a representation agreement on behalf of an adult who was unable to sign. In these circumstances, the person signing on behalf of the adult could not be named as a representative or alternate representative in the agreement or be a witness to the agreement. One of the witnesses had to be an officer.

Certificates to Be Filed with Representation Agreement

Certificate of Witness

Section 13(6) of the Representation Agreement Act provided that each witness must complete a certificate in the prescribed form (Form 5). The certificate of each witness must be attached to the representation agreement filed in the land title office.

Certificate of Representative or Alternate Representative

Each representative and alternate representative was required to complete a certificate in the prescribed form (Form 1). The certificate of each representative or alternate representative must be attached to the representation agreement filed in the land title office.

Certificate of Person Signing on Behalf of Adult

The person who signed on behalf of an adult must have completed a certificate in the prescribed form (Form 4). The certificate of the person signing on behalf of the adult must be attached to the representation agreement filed in the land title office.

Certificate of Monitor

If a monitor was appointed under the conditions set out in s. 12 of the Representation Agreement Act, a certificate in Form 2 must have been completed and attached to the representation agreement that was filed in the land title office.

Effective Date of Representation Agreement

Under s. 15 of the Representation Agreement Act, a representation agreement was effective from the date it was executed, unless the agreement expressly provided that it took effect at a later date when an event occurred. The registrar requires a declaration in the following or a similar form as proof that the event has occurred.

EXAMPLE: Declaration as to the Occurrence of an Event (Section 15(2) of the Representation Agreement Act)

Deposit of Power of Attorney

Section 51 of the Act provides that a power of attorney must be filed with the registrar before an instrument executed by the attorney may be registered.

Submissions

On the Form 17 Charge, Notation or Filing, select Nature of Interest, Representation Agreement, and attach an image of the original representation agreement. A representation agreement, executed before September 1, 2011, is in the class of supporting documents designated by the director for electronic filing.

Change or Revocation of Representation Agreement

See Part 4, ss. 27 to 29, of the Representation Agreement Act with respect to changing, revoking, cancelling, or ending a representation agreement.

An amendment to a representation agreement must be executed and witnessed in the same manner as the agreement. The registrar requires proof, in the form of a solemn declaration, that written notice of the amendment has been given to each representative, alternate representative, or monitor.

A revocation of a representation agreement must be in writing. The registrar requires proof, in the form of a solemn declaration, that written notice of the revocation has been given to each representative, alternate representative, or monitor.

A representation agreement comes to an end when the registrar receives written evidence that the representative has resigned unless

  1. another representative, named in the representation agreement, has agreed to continue to act, or
  2. an alternate representative, named in the representation agreement, has agreed to act.

Representation Agreements and the Patients Property Act

The authority of a representative is affected when a person becomes a patient under the Patients Property Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 349. See the discussion of the Patients Property Act in chapter 63 (Trustees, Personal Representatives, and Trustees in Bankruptcy).