Deposit of power of attorney on registration of instrument

51   (1) An instrument tendered for registration and executed by an attorney under a power of attorney must not be registered unless one of the following is filed with the registrar:

(a) the original power of attorney;

(b) a copy of the original power of attorney certified to be a true copy of the original

(i) by the registrar, if the registrar has custody of the original,

(ii) by the registrar of companies, if the registrar of companies has custody of the original, or

(iii) by the registrar under subsection (4);

(c) if the original power of attorney has been executed, filed or deposited in a province or country the laws of which require that the original power of attorney be filed or deposited with the officer preparing it or with some other officer or a court, a copy of the original power of attorney certified by the officer under the officer's seal of office or under the seal of the court, as the case may be, and accompanied by a certificate or other evidence that the original has been so filed or deposited, and that the filing or depositing was required by the law of that province or country.

(2) The execution of a power of attorney must be witnessed or proved in the manner required for instruments by Part 5.

(2.1) In the case of an agreement that is

(a) an enduring power of attorney signed under section 16 (2) of the Power of Attorney Act, or

(b) a representation agreement deemed to be an enduring power of attorney under section 44.3 of the Representation Agreement Act, signed under section 13 (4) of that Act,

the signature of the person signing the agreement on behalf of the adult making the agreement is deemed to be the adult's signature for the purposes of this Act.

(3) Subject to subsection (3.1), a person who is appointed an attorney for the execution of an instrument tendered for registration must have reached 19 years of age at the time of the appointment, and proof of that fact must be given to the registrar at the time the power of attorney is filed.

(3.1) In the case of an enduring power of attorney, a person who is appointed an attorney for the execution of an instrument tendered for registration must have reached 19 years of age at the time of registration, and proof of that fact must be given to the registrar at the time the enduring power of attorney is filed.

(4) The registrar, under subsection (1) (b) (iii), may certify a copy of a power of attorney to be a true copy if the instrument tendered for registration is accompanied by

(a) the original power of attorney, and

(b) an application, in a form acceptable to the registrar, for the return of the original.

(4.1) [Repealed 2007-34-89.]

(5) A certified copy filed under subsection (1) is conclusive proof of the contents of the power of attorney for the purposes of this Act.

(6) [Repealed 2007-34-89.]

(7) If a person changes an enduring power of attorney in accordance with section 28 of the Power of Attorney Act,

(a) the changed enduring power of attorney must be filed in the same manner as an original power of attorney under subsection (1) of this section,

(b) the execution of the change must be witnessed or proved in the manner required for instruments by Part 5 of this Act,

(c) subsection (4) applies to a copy of a change to an enduring power of attorney as it applies to a copy of a power of attorney, and

(d) subsection (5) applies to a change to an enduring power of attorney as it applies to a power of attorney.

Attorney's powers extend to after acquired land

52   Unless a power of attorney provides expressly to the contrary, the rights and powers conferred on an attorney with respect to land owned by the principal at the date of the execution of the power of attorney also apply to land acquired by the principal after that date.

Index of powers of attorney

53   (1) The registrar must keep an index, to be called an index of powers of attorney, in which the registrar must enter alphabetically references to

(a) the serial number of the power of attorney or certified copy, and

(b) the names of the principal and the attorney.

(2) The registrar must endorse on every power of attorney, or certified copy of it, filed in the land title office, a serial number and the date and time of filing.

(3) If a person changes an enduring power of attorney in accordance with section 28 of the Power of Attorney Act and the changed enduring power of attorney, or a certified copy of it, is filed in the land title office in accordance with section 51 (7) of this Act, the registrar must endorse on the changed enduring power of attorney, or a certified copy of it,

(a) the serial number of the original enduring power of attorney, and

(b) the date and time that the changed enduring power of attorney was filed.

Effect of execution of second power of attorney

54   (1) The execution by a principal of a subsequent power of attorney does not for the purpose of this Act revoke the appointment of an attorney made by that principal under a previous power of attorney, unless

(a) the subsequent power of attorney expressly revokes in whole or in part the previous power of attorney, and

(b) section 57 is complied with.

(2) The execution by a principal of a change to an enduring power of attorney, made in accordance with section 28 of the Power of Attorney Act, does not for the purpose of this Act revoke the appointment of an attorney made by that principal under the original enduring power of attorney, unless

(a) the changed enduring power of attorney expressly revokes in whole or in part the original enduring power of attorney, and

(b) section 57 of this Act is complied with.

Power of personal representative or trustee

55   A personal representative or trustee who resides outside British Columbia and who has the power, either alone or jointly with another or others, to sell and transfer land or to create a charge on land may

(a) act in British Columbia by attorney, and

(b) unless expressly forbidden by the trust instrument, give a valid power of attorney for the exercise in British Columbia of that power and of all discretionary powers in connection with it to any person capable of acting as attorney, including a co-personal representative or a co-trustee.

Power of attorney valid for 3 years only

56   (1) For the purpose of this Act, but subject to subsections (2), (3) and (5) and unless the effect of this section is expressly excluded in it, a power of attorney filed in the land title office either before or after this Act comes into force is not valid after 3 years after the date of its execution.

(2) Subsection (1) does not invalidate

(a) a dealing that is

(i) otherwise valid,

(ii) registered before October 31, 1979, and

(iii) entered into by an attorney acting in good faith under a valid power of attorney filed with the registrar before October 31, 1979, or

(b) a dealing that is

(i) otherwise valid, and

(ii) entered into within 3 years after the date of execution of a valid power of attorney.

(3) For the purpose of this Act, but subject to section 57 (1), an enduring power of attorney that is filed under section 51 of this Act remains valid, unless terminated by another means, until an order terminating the enduring power of attorney is filed in the land title office.

(4) Section 57 (3) of this Act applies to the order filed under subsection (3) as if it were a notice of revocation.

(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to a power of attorney executed by a corporation after July 30, 1981.

(6) The amendments to this section made by the Attorney General Statutes Amendment Act, 1981 do not apply to powers of attorney executed before July 30, 1981.

Revocation of power of attorney

57   (1) A power of attorney filed in the land title office may be revoked by filing a notice of revocation in the form approved by the director, or by filing other evidence that, in the opinion of the registrar, is sufficient to effect a revocation.

(2) If the power of attorney has not been filed, the principal may lodge a caveat under section 283.

(3) On receiving a notice of revocation of a power of attorney or other sufficient evidence under subsection (1), the registrar must

(a) endorse in the index of powers of attorney, opposite the entry of the power, the fact and date of revocation, and

(b) unless the power of attorney has been microfilmed, endorse on the document itself the fact that it has been revoked.