Planning for the Unexpected
Powers of Attorney &
Enduring Guardians
Financial Decisions On Your Behalf
General and Enduring Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document you can use to appoint someone to make financial or property decisions on your behalf. It is governed by the principles of the Powers of Attorney Act 2003 (NSW).
You may wish to have a Power of Attorney document drawn up for any of the following reasons:
- You are going away for a period of time or will be unable to deal with your own affairs, and wish to appoint someone local to deal with your financial and/or property affairs e.g. selling a house.
- You wish to appoint someone to deal with your affairs indefinitely and in the event you lose mental capacity, e.g. you sustain a brain injury in an accident or become mentally disabled through disease or other disability.
If you only wish to appoint someone as your Attorney during such times as you lack mental capacity temporarily then this is known as a General Power of Attorney. When you wish to appoint someone to deal with your financial affairs indefinitely and in the instance that you permanently lose mental capacity then this is known as an Enduring Power of Attorney.
Life Decisions On Your Behalf
Enduring Guardianship
Many people have a Will drawn up to have the peace of mind that their personal and financial affairs will be carried out in accordance with their wishes upon their passing. However, if you become incapable of making personal and lifestyle decisions whilst you are alive, say through an accident or disability, who will make these decisions for you?
An Enduring Guardianship is a legal document that allows you (the Principal) to appoint someone to make personal and lifestyle decisions for you in the event you are unable to. It is a good way to plan ahead for your future, especially if you have been diagnosed with a disease or illness that may make you mentally incapable of making decisions for yourself in the future.
