YOUR PERSONAL PLANNING DOCUMENTS AND THE NIDUS REGISTRY
When you are planning for your future, there are some personal planning documents that can be very valuable in providing you with peace of mind.
Some of these documents include:
- A Representation Agreement
- An Advance Directive
- An Enduring Power of Attorney
- A Nomination of Committee
These personal planning documents and considerations regarding personal planning are explained by the Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”) of British Columbia in a document entitled: It’s Your Choice Personal Planning Tools. It is important for each individual to understand their options and the personal planning documents that address their particular needs.
Once you have drafted any of these personal planning documents, it is also important to ensure that your representative, your physician, your family members, or the PGT can access a copy of your documents when they are needed. (The PGT states explicitly that although you may notify them that you have made a document, such as a nomination of committee, they will not store original documents.)
With this in mind, the Nidus Personal Planning Registry (the “Nidus Registry”), is a new tool that allows for electronic registration of your personal planning documents. Through the Nidus registry, you can electronically upload a copy of your documents and enter the location at which they are being kept. If the documents or personal information stored in the Nidus Registry change, you can, of course, update your profile on the Nidus Registry.
You may also specify whether the documents are only accessible to you, or if you would like other parties, such as your family, or the Public Guardian Trust of British Columbia, to be able to access your registered documents.
The Nidus Registry can also be used for storing a multitude of other documents, such as a copy of an individual’s passport to access in an emergency when overseas and copies of any other document, information or instructions that you would usually store in a safety deposit box. Because the Nidus Registry is online, it is available at all times, and can be accessed in an emergency.
Kerfoot Burroughs LLP now offers you the option of registering your personal planning documents through the Nidus Registry, to give you the peace of mind of knowing that your documents will be accessible and that your family will know where they are kept. Clients using our firm to register with NIDUS will receive 20% off the standard account and registration fees.
If you have questions or would like our assistance with completing or registering your personal planning documents, please contact Ian Burroughs.
