Initial steps in administration of property

What is the proper way to start administering the property of someone close to you who is under your protection? Here is some advice to get you started.

Inventory of property

Do not overlook this step. Not only is it compulsory, it is also the key to trouble-free management. An inventory is a solid starting point and gives you a clearer sense of how you will administer the patrimony of the person under your protection.

An inventory makes it easier for you to set up a management system on which to base the annual report you will have to submit to your tutorship council and to the Curateur public. Last but not least, when everyone has the same information in front of them, you eliminate the need for endless questions!

Drawing up an inventory gives you an accurate picture of the person's property, valuables, furniture, real estate and liquid assets (cash, investments, bank account deposits, etc.). You will also get some idea of their sources of income (social assistance and social solidarity programs, old age security pension, interest from investments, rental property income, allowances, and so on).

Preparing the inventory

Deadlines

The inventory of property has to be given to the secretary of the tutorship council and the Curateur public within 60 days of the instituting of protective supervision.

The inventory should contain an accurate list of all the property you will be managing. Be sure to describe every item worth $100 or more, as well as the person's debts. In accounting terms, you will then be able to determine the person's assets and liabilities. If you find the task too complex, contact a notary or an accountant.

Inventory by private writing

If you compile the inventory yourself, you have to ask two witnesses to sign it. This is known as an inventory by private writing and is appropriate when the person's assets are relatively straightforward (e.g. a piece of real estate, an old age security pension and a few items of furniture). You must use the form that comes enclosed with the Curateur public's request.

Notarial inventory

The notary's or accountant's fees are paid out of the patrimony of the represented person.

Maybe the patrimony you will be administering comprises various types of assets (investments with different financial institutions, stocks, real estate, etc.). Or maybe income flows into the person's bank accounts from many different sources. If so, we advise you to use a notary.

The ès qualités account

WARNING! Once protective supervision is opened, you have to manage the property of the person under your protection. Maybe the person granted someone a power of attorney before they were certified as incapacitated; now that you have been appointed, the power of attorney is no longer valid.

Because you have to keep the protected person's assets completely separate from your own, one of the first things to do is to open an ès qualités account. You only use this account for administering the property of the incapacitated person – for depositing their income and perhaps for making presumed sound investments.

Sources of income and everyday expenses

You have to determine the sources of income of the person under your protection (employment assistance, old age security pension, interest from investments, rental property income, allowances, and so on).

Introduce yourself to the banks and other financial institutions of which the protected person is a client. Show them a copy of the judgment appointing you as tutor or curator to the person's property.

An advisor from a financial institution can help you compile this list, which will probably include items like housing assistance, surviving spouse's pension, and so on. A social worker from the CLSC can also be helpful with this.

Once you have determined the person's monthly income and prepared the inventory of property, you have a clearer idea of the overall standard of living that they can afford. You will have to adjust their expenditures to fit their income.

An accounting system: making your life a whole lot simpler!

The best way to keep track of your administration is to set up a straightforward income and expenditure accounting system. You can then record cash receipts and payments on a periodic basis (daily, weekly or monthly). At the end of each year, you will easily be able to fill out the form you receive from the Curateur public.

Collecting the income

Continue to collect the person's income and deal with the formalities for obtaining all other benefits and indemnities from government or other sources, to which the person's condition entitles them. Among others, the Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale automatically pays an allowance for serious employment constraints to people under protective supervision who are eligible for employment assistance.

Everyday expenses

If the protected person was paying support payments, you will continue to fulfil this obligation on their behalf.

The inventory and the income you determined will also dictate how much you can spend on accommodation. The cost of the person's accommodation (rent or mortgage payments on their home) and everyday expenses will be paid out of the person's income.

You also have to pay off the debts of the person under your protection, and where appropriate, try to obtain repayment terms.

Supporting documents

Be sure to keep all invoices, receipts and cheque stubs relating to your administration of the property entrusted to you by the court. You can then produce this documentation to support and justify your transactions, if you are asked to do so by:

the tutorship council;
the Curateur public, if it conducts a more detailed verification of your annual administration report;
the person under tutorship;
their heirs, when you cease to act as curator or tutor.