September is World Alzheimer's Month, and it's a good reminder to ask a question that most of us would prefer to avoid.

If something happened to your cognitive health tomorrow, who would make decisions for you?

This topic resonates with me deeply.  Women in my family have suffered from varying degrees of cognitive decline for generations.  It is like losing someone slowly right before your eyes.  Memories go missing.  Names are forgotten.  And eventually the sparkle disappears from your loved one’s eyes.  It’s a devastating and cruel disease.

As a financial planner, I channel this hurt and concern when I counsel my clients.  I am constantly asking clients to make sure that they have Wills and Powers of Attorney in place.  Arguably, the Power of Attorney is more important to you while you are alive.  A Power of Attorney is the document that nominates someone to act on your behalf in the event of an illness or injury that leaves you unable to act or speak for yourself. It has direct influence on your quality of life during a time when you are the most vulnerable.

Many Canadians who are recovering from divorce would be mortified to realize that their ex-spouse is still be named as their Power of Attorney for Property or Personal Care (health / medical decisions).  While some Canadians maintain civil and even collegial relationships with their former-spouses, most would likely nominate someone else to make decisions on their behalf if they were reminded to do so.  It’s not my place to tell a client who to name, but it is critical that I ask my clients to make sure that their documents name a substitute decision maker of their current choosing.  Not an outdated document made at a time before trust and love was lost.

Whether you are recently divorced or looking back long-after the marriage has ended, unless you've actively changed the form, that old paperwork is still in force.

So, I implore you to pull out your Power of Attorney this week!  If your ex-spouse is still named on it and that is no longer your wish, now is the time to attend to it.

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Monique Madan
CFP®, FMA, RRC®

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