Guardian of Property for Autistic Adults in Ontario

A guardian of property is a person or trust corporation authorized to make financial decisions for a mentally incapable adult. The role covers property such as real estate and bank accounts and can include opening or closing accounts, redirecting income, applying for benefits, paying bills, and buying goods and services.

A guardian of property cannot make personal care decisions, including health-care decisions, and cannot make a will for the person. A guardian of the person is a separate role for personal care matters such as health care, nutrition, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and safety.

Ontario law starts from the assumption that adults are capable of making decisions until a qualified professional assesses them and determines otherwise. Autism alone does not create guardianship or establish incapacity.

A private guardian of property may be appointed through the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee or the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. If the Office already acts as statutory guardian, only the incapable person's spouse, partner, or relative may apply to replace it through the process described by Ontario. If no one else is willing, suitable, and available, the Public Guardian and Trustee may be appointed as a last resort.

An applicant to the court or the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee must submit a Management Plan explaining how the person's property will be managed. In a court application, the court considers the proposed guardian's suitability and the plan, and the person must be informed of the application and the right to oppose it.

A capacity assessment can be useful in deciding whether someone is incapable of managing property or of granting or revoking a power of attorney, but the process depends on the appointment route. A section 16 assessment concerns whether the Public Guardian and Trustee should become statutory guardian; in a court proceeding, a judge decides incapacity based on medical and expert evidence.

For most people, having a power of attorney for property or personal care means a guardian will not need to be appointed. A power of attorney for property must be made by a mentally capable person who is at least eighteen. A continuing power of attorney can keep operating after the person becomes unable to make property decisions.

A benefit-specific arrangement is narrower than guardianship. Under the Ontario Disability Support Program policy directive, the Director may appoint a trustee to help a recipient manage income support when the criteria are met. That appointment concerns ODSP income support and should not be treated as general authority over all property.

Capacity assessors set their own hourly or flat rates, so Ontario does not publish one universal assessment cost. Ontario says financial assistance may be available for a qualifying capacity assessment, and Legal Aid Ontario may be able to assist someone who cannot afford a lawyer.