Submit a request to manage an account under a Public Guardian and Trustee or a court-appointed guardian

Overview

A Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) or a court-appointed guardian manages the financial affairs of someone who has been found legally incapable of managing their own. The person whose affairs are being managed is called the donor.

Depending on the province, this can be either:

• A provincial PGT office, a government body such as the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee in Ontario or the Curateur public du Québec.
• An individual appointed by a court, for example a family member named in a court order as guardian, committee, tutor, or trustee of property.

Once a PGT or court-appointed guardian is in place, they have legal authority over the donor's Wealthsimple profile and the donor no longer does. All instructions on the profile need to come from them.

For simplicity, this article uses PGT to refer to both, unless a section says otherwise.

How this is different from a power of attorney

A power of attorney (POA) is set up by a client while they still have capacity, and the client chooses their attorney. A PGT or court-appointed guardian is appointed by a court or a provincial office after the client has been found legally incapable, so the client doesn't choose them.

The two follow completely different processes at Wealthsimple. If a PGT has been appointed, follow the steps in this article rather than the POA process. The account types, minimum balances, and document requirements described in the POA article don't apply to a PGT appointment.

A PGT is also different from a Trusted Contact Person, who can't act on your account or give us instructions.

What happens to the account

What happens next depends on which type of appointment is in place. In both cases, the donor no longer has authority over the profile.

If a provincial PGT office is appointed

• We place restrictions on the profile, so transactions can't be made until the office directs us otherwise.
• Statements, tax slips, and other correspondence are redirected to the office.
• The donor and their family no longer have access to the profile.
• The office sends us instructions in writing and our team actions them.

If an individual is appointed by a court

• The profile isn't restricted. The individual manages it directly.
• The individual is treated as the authorized party for deposits, withdrawals, trades, statements, and account closures.
• Contact information on the profile may be updated to the individual's.

How to prepare and submit your request

What you send us, and how you send it, depends on whether a provincial PGT office or a court-appointed individual has been appointed.

If you're a provincial PGT office

Follow these steps to submit your request:

1. Gather the required documents:
   • The Certificate of the Public Guardian and Trustee, which confirms your office has authority
   • Your instruction letter, setting out what you'd like us to do and identifying the donor
   • An account statement, if you have one. It helps us find the right profile.
2. Fax your documents directly to us at 647-245-1002. Don't attach legal documents or an ID to an email. Contact our support team only if you need help preparing your request, want to confirm we received your fax, or can't send by fax.
3. We review and verify your documents. We'll follow up if we need anything else before we can action your request.
4. After we verify your request, we’ll reach out to the trustee and confirm that the PGT is set up.

If you were appointed by a court

Follow these steps to submit your request:

1. If you don't have a Wealthsimple profile yet, create one. You don't need to open or fund an account. We just need to confirm you're the person named in the court order.
2. Upload the court order or judgment naming you as guardian, committee, tutor, or trustee of property to your own Wealthsimple profile. You'll need to be logged in on a computer. See Upload and download documents to your profile for the steps. Don't send legal documents or an ID by email.
3. Contact our support team and let us know you've been appointed by a court.
4. We open your request and review your documents.
5. Next, we verify your appointment, then set up your authority and access on the profile. We'll reach out to you with next steps at this point in the process.

What we can't do

• We can't change a beneficiary under any type of PGT or guardianship appointment.
• We can't always open a new account. We can open a new account where an individual has been appointed by a court. We can't open one for a provincial PGT office, unless the office's instructions specifically direct us to.
• We can't reverse an appointment. Only the court that made it, or the provincial office that holds it, can change or end it.

If you're the donor

If a PGT has been appointed for you, we can't take instructions from you on your profile, including withdrawals, trades, and changes to your information. Your PGT needs to make those requests on your behalf. You can reach them using the contact information on the documentation they gave you.

If you're a family member

We can only take instructions from the appointed PGT, even if you're closely related to the donor or helping them day to day.

If a PGT has been appointed and you're not the PGT, contact the PGT directly. If you've been appointed by a court, follow the steps in How to prepare and submit your request above.

If a PGT hasn't contacted us yet, we can't restrict or action the profile based on your word alone. Ask the PGT to contact us directly with their documentation.

If you're worried about the safety of someone's money at Wealthsimple, contact our support team and let us know.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

• Setting up a power of attorney
• Add a Trusted Contact person
• Upload and download documents to your profile
• Estate settlement process