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Family law and couples

Incapacity mandate : how to

To be truly effective, the mandate must be as complete and unambiguous as possible, give wide-ranging power to the mandatary and provide for the mandatary’s replacement should the latter resign, become incapable of acting or die. If you wish, you may even choose two different persons, one to ensure your well-being and the other to take care of your property. The mandate may even include certain “living will” provisions or provisions to ensure the gift of bodily organs, etc.

Ideally, the mandate should be drawn up before a notary. This enables the mandator to obtain complete information and advice from a legal authority concerning the usefulness and consequences of a mandate, when and how it comes into force, etc. The mandate may also take the form of a simple contract, signed under private signature before two disinterested witnesses. The witnesses must also be in a position to assess the capacity of the mandator at the time of signature.

However, a notarial mandate provides greater security because it is difficult to contest. The notary ensures that the person who signs the mandate understands its scope and significance and is in full command of his or her faculties. Mandators and mandataries may obtain as many copies as they need, since the original is kept for safekeeping by the notary in whose presence it was signed.