Enduring Power of Attorney & Guardian NSW | Protect Your Finances & Lifestyle
Learn why having an Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardian is vital in NSW to protect your financial and personal decisions if you lose mental capacity.
Good morning,
You need an enduring power of attorney and an appointment of an enduring guardian capacity?
Should you lose the ability to make decisions regarding your finances or lifestyle due to mental impairment, these documents are an absolute necessity to ensure that your affairs and lifestyle are in the hands of someone you trust.
Whilst there is no definitive definition regarding mental capacity in New South Wales, the British criteria is very useful. You have mental capacity when you:
1. Understand information given to you about a particular decision;
2. Retain that information long enough for you to be able to make the decision;
3. Weigh up the information available to make the decision;
4. Communicate your decision.
The most common reasons why people lose mental capacity are through strokes, dementia and brain injury. Once you have lost mental capacity you lose the capacity to control your life and make decisions. In the absence of an Enduring Power of Attorney, Enduring Guardian and an Advanced Health Directive (AHD), an application must be made to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for the appointment of an attorney and/or guardian to make financial, and/or personal and lifestyle decisions on your behalf. If financial decisions need to be made the Tribunal can appoint someone as a financial manager. All too often in times of trauma, where urgent medical treatment is required, a hospital or your loved one may have to make an urgent application to provide the standard of medical treatment necessary, as all medical treatment can only take place with someone who has the appropriate authority.
In the absence of an Appointment of an Enduring Guardian someone has to make an application for a guardianship order. In making an order NCAT must be satisfied by the evidence before it that:
a. the person the application is about has a decision-making disability
b. the disability results in the person being partially or wholly incapable of managing themselves; and
c. there is a need for the person to have a guardian appointed.
d. If the person already has informal decision making or an enduring guardianship appointment in place which is working in their best interests.
e. It is not necessary for NCAT to make an order.
To safeguard you and your family it is prudent to have an Enduring Power of Attorney and an Enduring Guardian with an AHD in place should the worst ever happen. If you care about your family and wish to have peace of mind, please contact me.
Best regards,
Jeffrey
0419 233 670
Please click to see more HERE
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Legal Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.