Join Bruce Young, CPA, CA, and Nathan Spaling, LL.B and founder of POA Registry and Capacity Clinic, as they unpack the legal, ethical and practical landscape of capacity and decision-making in Canada. You’ll learn how incapacity affects financial management, legal planning, powers of attorney, and professional responsibilities, while identifying proactive strategies for client protection.

Legal capacity is not an all-or-nothing determination. The specific type of capacity being assessed—such as testamentary (to make a will), medical decision-making, or financial—has different legal standards. Understanding these distinctions is essential for trusted advisors when navigating compliance, client advocacy, and risk mitigation.

About this course

  • $49.00
  • 1 CPD hour
  • November 19, 2025 - 12:00 PM ET

Key topics include:

  • The legal framework for substitute decision-making in Canada
  • Current and developing standards for assessing decision-making capacity, from both medical and legal perspectives
  • Understanding how incapacity intersects with POAs and how both intersect with planning and legal compliance for transactions, gifting, drafting wills and legal documents, along with an array of common life decisions
  • Identifying your professional obligations and mitigating your risks, and guidance for navigating the ethical challenges when clients’ decision-making is uncertain
  • Documenting concerns and making informed referrals, along with other practical tools for advisors in both legal and financial practices

    • Instructor(s)

    Bruce Young

    CPA, CA, CEA, Estates & Trusts Advisor

    Bruce is an accountant (CPA, CA) with a multidisciplinary skill set and extensive business experience. His career spans leadership roles for private equity and family investors of small to midsize companies, along with his professional work while at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that included litigation support and cross-border tax services.

    His results-oriented, pragmatic approach is the foundation for Collective Agreement, his consultancy service specializing in estate and trust administration. Integrating innovative technology designed for estate and trust professionals, he helps optimize client outcomes.

    Based in Toronto, he works with clients across Canada that are referred by their professional advisors, typically for more complex or contentious estate/trust matters.

    Nathan Spaling

    LL.B and founder of POA Registry & Capacity Clinic

    Nathan Spaling founded the Capacity Clinic in 2020 to help professionals and their clients navigate the complexities of decision-making and mental capacity. As a lawyer and registered social service worker, Nathan noticed that many professionals never received formal training on how to recognize or respond to signs of cognitive impairment. He launched the Capacity Clinic to improve this process and better equip professionals to identify and interact with clients who have diminished capacity.