An Enduring Power of Attorney and a Personal Directive are two living documents that are essential to anyone considering estate planning and in our view every adult person should have them.
The Law Clinic provides a wide variety of Powers of Attorney services including Enduring Powers of Attorney as set out below and Specific Powers of Attorney, i.e. to provide your daughter with a Power of Attorney to cash your old age security pension cheques for you, or a Power of Attorney which is very general, i.e. if you wish, you can give your Attorney very wide powers to deal with all of your assets.
We can customize a Power of Attorney that meets your specific needs providing you have the mental capacity to properly instruct us.
Enduring Power of Attorney and Personal Directive – These two living documents are essential to anyone considering estate planning and in our view every adult person should have them.
Enduring Power of Attorney
An Enduring Power of Attorney appoints a person of your choice to deal with property and financial matters during your lifetime if either on a temporary or permanent basis if you become unable to do so due to an accident, injury or health related matter.
Personal Directives
A Personal Directive appoints a person of your choice to assist you with personal and health care matters during your lifetime if you become unable to understand personal decisions (non-financial matters relating to your person) and the consequences of those decisions. These include decisions as to where you can live, whether you can work, who you may associate with, the granting of medical authorizations and dealing with life support issues and pain medication if you are in a coma or persistent vegetative state and it is unlikely you will ever regain awareness or a higher level of mental function.
These living documents come to an end in one of three ways:
• If you have your mental capacity and cancel them in writing;
• If all of the persons you appoint predecease you or become unable to act, therefore you should always appoint an alternate;
• If you die.
On your death your Will would govern. If you become incapacitated mentally prior to obtaining these living documents then the only way anyone will be able to deal with your property and financial matters (with the exception of a joint bank account), or to assist you with health care and personal decisions is by Court Order.
The cost could exceed $5,000.00 for Court Orders, there could be long delays in obtaining the necessary Trustee and Guardianship Orders, and you would not have any say as to who would be appointed. These two documents are as important as your Will in our view and are relatively inexpensive documents. Our Estate Solicitors would be more than pleased to assist you.
Please click here for more information on Wills and Estate Planning.
