Canadian Chat → Power of Attorney between provinces??

I'm not a lawyer - thankfully.

A friend of mine has valid power of attorney for financial affairs granted to him by his sole remaining parent. The power gives him unrestricted rights to act on behalf of the parent with respect to banking, investing, paying bills, real estate, etc.... etc...
The power of attorney was drawn up by an Ontario lawyer, and executed and witnessed at the lawyer's office in Ontario last year. There are NO subsequent powers of attorney executed to supercede my friend's POA.

His parent put the family homestead up for sale several months ago (in Nova Scotia). After listing the home for sale his parent departed Canada and is currently wintering out of the country in Australia. Offers came in on the home and were directed by the real estate agent to my friend to deal with the offers/counter-offers. Finally an offer was accepted.

Now the transaction is coming up for closing at the end of the month and the Nova Scotia lawyer they hired is not accepting the power of attorney as valid for closing. The NS lawyer now wants my friend's parent (who is about to undergo surgery in Australia due to a traffic accident - busted up shoulders, arms, and one leg) to execute a replacement POA in front of an Australian lawyer, and send it (original) to NS. Not sure how a person who has lost use of their arms signs a POA right before undergoing surgery in any even. And my friend should be landing in Melbourne in a couple of hours.

This strikes me as insane....
1) Since when does a POA correctly formed and executed in Canada not be valid in Canada? Or is it due to some peculiarity in Nova Scotia law with respect to real estate transactions (I know all about FINTRAC and lawyers obligations, etc...).
2) Why would a POA executed in Australia hold any more weight?

I think it's high time my friend got another lawyer.

Is there anything that the Nova Scotia lawyer is saying that makes any sense at all?

Found this:

What are the differences between enduring and ordinary powers of attorney?

There are two major types of powers of attorney: ordinary and enduring. An ordinary power of attorney is only valid as long as the donor is capable of acting for him or herself. If the donor dies or becomes mentally incompetent, the power of attorney is invalidated. An enduring power of attorney remains valid even if the donor later becomes mentally incompetent. (Note: the donor must be competent at the time the power of attorney is made.) In either case, the power of attorney becomes invalid when the donor dies. A power of attorney cannot be used to bequeath property upon the death of the donor.

What are the differences between general and specific powers of attorney?

A general power of attorney is one that gives the attorney the authority to do anything the donor could do him or herself. A specific power of attorney is one that gives the attorney authority to act for a particular purpose (e.g. to buy or sell a particular piece of property).

»www.lawdepot.ca/law-libr ··· stion0_2

I'm not a lawyer either nor even a Canadian.

But it strikes me that the lawyer may be sincere.

He has nothing to gain by having a new POA made in Australia. He can't charge fees for that. And delaying the sale of the home won't benefit him.

It may likewise be that the home buyers are uncomfortable.

I know when I bought my home, my wife and I were expecting the sellers to show up at the closing. But they sent their lawyer instead with a POA. I've never been happy with that, in my mind it added an element of doubt to the transaction.....

And from the legal POV:»www.mondaq.com/canada/x/ ··· cuted+In

It's a general/enduring POA for anything to do with financial matters. My friend also has a separate POA to deal with his parent's health matters should the need arise.

It would seem unreasonable/hypocritical to not recognize a POA executed in another Province yet recognize a POA executed in another country.

He can still charge fees for processing, as well as other possible fees, he WILL make something off of this.

Delaying the sale of the house could be seen as a pressure tactic.

When we bought our house, we met with our lawyer and no one else. The transaction took an hour. All the paperwork had been prepared in advance. The seller had signed all their documents. We signed it. The legwork was all done by the lawyer and the real estate agent. The law firm was also acting for both parties (different lawyers). It would be rare for buyer and seller ever to meet in a housing transaction in Canada.

Same here, I bought my house, got the keys around 6pm and headed to the new homestead. The previous owner was gone.

OTOH a buddy of mine moved from Toronto to London and ended up figthing with an Ahole lawyer, who refused to release the keys because the money wasn't in his account yet.

Sounds like a lawyer who was doing his job.

Contact the lawyer who drafted the original POA and ask him. Then you will know.
As people said there are no lawyers here.