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In parts of Canada in which there is a specific form required by law, you should print the form and take it with you to the dependent adult’s doctor, preferably on the visit at which he or she is examining the dependent adult. Explain that you wish to apply to the court to be appointed as guardian or trustee and give the doctor the form. Ask him or her to complete, sign, and date the form (all medical forms must be signed and dated by the doctor). You may not receive the form back immediately, as the doctor may wish to run some tests, see the dependent adult a second time, review the dependent adult’s medical history, or consult with another doctor. Once the medical form is returned to you, it will become part of your signed and sworn application to the court.

In the areas of Canada in which there is no specific form and the medical evidence must be supplied by way of affidavit, the process is slightly more complicated. All evidence given to the judge must be sworn to be true, either by you or by the doctor. One of two things can happen. The first is that the doctor will see the dependent adult and provide you with a written report. You will then prepare an affidavit for the doctor to sign, in which the doctor will swear that he or she prepared the report and believes it to be accurate. The report will be Exhibit ìAî to the affidavit. This affidavit will form part of the court application. Because the affidavit is evidence, the doctor will have to swear it in front of a Commissioner for Oaths, so again, you may have to come back at a later date once the doctor has had a chance to do that.

The second possibility is that the doctor will provide you not with a separate report but with an affidavit already sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths. You are more likely to have this happen if you prepare the affidavit ahead of time and take it with you when you take the dependent adult to the doctor. You can then leave the affidavit with the doctor, thereby eliminating one step from the procedure.