Supported decision-making allows adults to pick who may assist them in making decisions. Supported decision-making can enable people living with disabilities to make their own decisions about financial, personal, health care, legal, or other matters. For people living with dementia, supported...

While health care consent law applies to everyone, the issue raises particular challenges in relation to people living with dementia — not only because dementia can impact mental capacity, but also because people living with dementia confront assumptions that they are mentally incapable of...

Using community-based participatory research principles, the Canadian Centre for Elder Law (CCEL) and the West Coast Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) engaged in a legal-community partnership to identify barriers to well being for older women. This report summarizes what we...

This report explores financial arrangements within families whereby the assets of older adults are used for the benefit of younger family members. These benefits most often take the form of loans or guarantees, and reflect the sincere desire of older adults to help their family members. They...

The Elder and Guardianship Mediation Project arose from a recognition that the reform of adult guardianship and substitute decision-making legislation contained in British Columbia’s Adult Guardianship and Planning Statutes Amendment Act, 2007 (commonly referred to as “Bill 29”) would...

A reverse mortgage is a type of loan made to senior citizen homeowners, allowing them to use their homes as collateral to get cash. No payments on the loan are due until the homeowner dies, or the home is sold or abandoned. Interest is added to the loan balance over time and the amount owed...

This study paper reviews the current legal framework in British Columbia governing leave, accommodation, and other entitlements available to employees who are providing care for family members, elderly parents, and grandparents and disabled adult children, addressing the care needs of adults...

Predatory lending is the practice whereby a lender deceptively persuades a borrower to agree to abusive loan terms. It is closely tied to the concept of subprime mortgage lending, which is the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for the best market interest rates. In the...

An adult guardian is somebody who is appointed to make decisions for an adult who is not capable of doing so. Individuals might need an adult guardian if they suffer from conditions such as a mental illness or handicap, a degenerative disease, or a head injury. This appointed individual is...

This discussion paper provides a starting point to engage in a national conversation about a critical "middle option" of health/housing in Canada. This middle option, called "supportive housing/assisted living" (SH/AL) in this project, lies at the centre of a seniors' housing continuum. This...