Lynne Butler BA , LLB is a senior Will and Estate Planner for Scotiabank , with an extensive background in elder law in Alberta . Her blog is at www . estatelawcanada . com .

There is no doubt that the legal landscape has changed for seniors in the last fifty years . Some of the changes are based on the fact that we now live much longer lives than did the people who were seniors in 1962 . According to a 2009 Canada Pension Plan actuarial study , for people born in 1900 ( who were about to become seniors fifty years ago ), the average life expectancy was only 51.1 years for men and 51.4 for women . By contrast , those born in 1940 have a life expectancy of 62.5 years for men and 65.7 for women . And of course many outlive these expectations by a good number of years . These statistics have two main impacts on seniors ’ legal issues .

First , we live a longer time after retirement . A longer life doesn ’ t guarantee that our mental and physical capabilities will still be as they were when we were younger , so we have to plan for incapacity . A high-quality Enduring Power of Attorney appoints someone to make financial decisions for us when we can no longer do so . While it has always been necessary to make a will to plan for passing away , planning for incapacity is now as important as will planning .

Second , women now live longer than men . Estate planning must ensure the financial well being of the widow , perhaps for many years after her husband is deceased . Wills , joint title to the matrimonial home and beneficiary designations on life insurance policies , RRSPs and pensions are all part of this planning . Back in 1962 it was common for a husband

and wife to have only one will document between them as if they were only one person ; that concept is now completely obsolete .

The legal tools that support modern planning weren ’ t available to people who were seniors back in 1962 , even if they had foreseen the need for them . Canada was still years away from having modern legislation that enabled seniors to maintain control over their legal and financial affairs once their capacity was impaired . In Alberta , it wasn ’ t until 1991 that the Enduring Power of Attorney Act came into effect , and the Personal Directives Act was even later , in 1998 .

Before these laws enabled seniors to choose their own representatives in advance of incapacity , family members would simply step in and take over the seniors ’ affairs as they saw fit , whenever they judged it to be necessary . While some may wish that helping a parent was still that easy , the truth is that solutions were often forced upon seniors who had no say in what was going on . It might have been easier for the family members who didn ’ t have to deal with paperwork , but it was not in the best interests of seniors .

Nowadays , seniors can use Enduring Powers of Attorney and Personal Directives to name the person they want to put in charge of decision-making . They can also decide on the mechanism that may one day declare them incompetent , taking that decision out of the hands of children or other individuals who may have their own agendas , providing certainty for themselves and their families . These are vitally important improvements over the previous system .

More planning options are open to seniors in Alberta than ever before . An important improvement is provided by the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act , which allows

8 News & Views Spring 2013