Cross-Border Terminal Illness & Advance Care Checklist: Canada & Philippines

1. 1

   Organizing Palliative and Hospice Care in Canada and the Philippines

   In Canada, publicly funded palliative and end-of-life care is delivered through provincial and territorial home care services, hospital palliative care consultations, and community residential hospices [1]. Ask the treating physician or nurse practitioner for a referral to the provincial home and community care team and provincial palliative drug benefit plan so symptom-management medications and home nursing visits are covered [1]. You can also search national and provincial hospice resources through the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association [2].

   If your family member is considering relocating between Canada and the Philippines for care, check medical fitness to fly and health coverage before booking travel, as Canadian provincial health plans severely limit out-of-country coverage. In the Philippines, palliative and supportive cancer and serious-illness care is provided through Department of Health (DOH) specialty centers under the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA), hospital palliative care teams linked with Hospice Philippines and the Philippine Society of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and catastrophic illness packages administered by PhilHealth (Z-Benefits) at contracted tertiary hospitals [5].

2. 2

   Executing Written Advance Directives and Living Wills While Capacity Remains

   Complete separate written advance care documents for Canada and the Philippines while your family member has full capacity so local clinical teams have clear, recognizable instructions.

   • Canada: Each province and territory has specific statutory forms and clinical medical order frameworks (such as an Advance Care Plan, a Representation Agreement in British Columbia, a Personal Directive in Alberta or Nova Scotia, or a clinical Goals of Care designation completed with the attending physician) [1][2]. National guides and provincial links are provided through Advance Care Planning Canada led by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association [2].
   • Philippines: While the Philippines does not have a single national statute governing standalone living wills, patients with full decision-making capacity can execute a written Advance Healthcare Directive, Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order, and informed refusal or goals-of-care documentation directly with their attending physician and the hospital ethics or palliative care committee, reinforced by a notarized Special Power of Attorney naming a trusted health care proxy [5].
3. 3

   Establishing Separate Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney in Both Jurisdictions

   A Canadian Power of Attorney is not automatically usable at Philippine banks or land registries unless executed or authenticated according to Philippine legal standards, and a Philippine instrument does not satisfy Canadian provincial requirements.

   • Canada: Execute two separate provincial instruments while the person retains full mental capacity: a Continuing or Enduring Power of Attorney for Property (for banking, tax, and real estate) and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Representation Agreement, Health Care Directive, or Mandat de protection in Quebec (for medical and personal care decisions) [1][2].
   • Philippines: To authorize a representative in the Philippines to manage bank accounts, real property, or benefit filings (such as with PhilHealth or the Social Security System), execute a written Special Power of Attorney (SPA) that specifically enumerates each authorized act [5][6]. If signed in the Philippines, the SPA must be notarized before a Philippine Notary Public. If your family member is in Canada, the SPA can either be acknowledged directly before the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa (or the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary) or notarized before a Canadian Notary Public and issued a Hague Apostille by Global Affairs Canada or the designated provincial authority.
4. 4

   Claiming Caregiver Leave and Fast-Track Terminal Illness Benefits

   Both countries offer financial and workplace support during a serious or terminal illness:

   • Canada: Caregivers who take time off work to care for or support a gravely ill person at significant risk of death within 26 weeks can apply to Service Canada for Employment Insurance (EI) Compassionate Care Benefits (providing up to 26 weeks of shareable benefits), or the EI Family Caregiver Benefit for Adults (up to 15 weeks for a critically ill adult), alongside job-protected compassionate care leave under federal and provincial labour standards [3]. Terminal patients can also request fast-track processing for Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability benefits through Service Canada [3].
   • Philippines: Eligible members can claim the Social Security System (SSS) Sickness Benefit (a daily cash allowance for up to 120 days per calendar year during hospital or home confinement) and Permanent Partial or Total Disability Benefits through the My.SSS portal [6], alongside inpatient coverage and Z-Benefit catastrophic packages from PhilHealth [5] and medical assistance for indigent or financially strained patients through the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Medical Assistance Program.
5. 5

   Aligning Wills, Beneficiary Designations, Tax, and Post-Death Administration

   Aligning estate plans and beneficiary records now avoids freezes and conflicting procedures across Canada and the Philippines:

   • Wills and Beneficiary Designations: Review wills covering Canadian and Philippine assets (taking account of mandatory compulsory heirship/legitime rules under the Civil Code of the Philippines) and confirm beneficiary designations on Canadian RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and insurance policies as well as member beneficiary records with Philippine agencies.
   • Canada post-death administration: Following a death, the family or executor notifies Service Canada to stop Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan payments and to apply for the CPP Death Benefit and Survivor's Pension (or contacts Retraite Québec for QPP) [3][4]. The legal representative notifies the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on 1-800-959-8281 or via Form RC4111, files the Final T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return, applies for provincial Probate where needed, and requests a CRA Clearance Certificate (Form TX19) prior to final estate distribution [4].
   • Philippines post-death administration: Surviving family members or claimants file for the Social Security System (SSS) Funeral Benefit (a cash grant of PHP 12,000 to PHP 60,000 paid to the person who shouldered burial expenses) and SSS Death Benefit (monthly survivor pension or lump sum) [7][8] - or GSIS survivorship benefits for government employees - alongside Pag-IBIG Fund provident claims and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) death and burial benefits for active OFW members. For Philippine bank accounts and real property, the executor or heirs must file the Estate Tax Return (BIR Form 1801, taxed at a flat 6% rate on the net estate) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) within one year from the date of death to obtain the Electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR), using either judicial settlement or a notarized Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate where there is no will and no outstanding debt [9].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Advance care planning in Canada and palliative care — Government of Canada (Health Canada)
2. [2]
   Advance Care Planning Canada — Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
3. [3]
   EI caregiving benefits: Compassionate care and Family Caregiver benefits — Service Canada (Government of Canada)
4. [4]
   Prepare tax returns for someone who died - Clearance certificate — Canada Revenue Agency
5. [5]
   Z-Benefit Packages for Catastrophic Illnesses — Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth)
6. [6]
   Sickness Benefit Qualifying Conditions — Social Security System (SSS Philippines)
7. [7]
   Death Benefit — Social Security System (SSS Philippines)
8. [8]
   Funeral Benefit — Social Security System (SSS Philippines)
9. [9]
   Estate Tax Return Guidelines — Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR Philippines)