What is the difference between these two?

An Enduring Power of Attorney covers financial, legal and property matters. An Appointment of Enduring Guardian will protect you in respect of non‑financial matters including medical procedures, accommodation and lifestyle decision making.

My partner will make all decisions should I lose capacity, so why are these documents necessary?

Financial institutions, accommodation providers and other service professionals/organisations often require the legal certainty of such documents should you lose capacity. Family members might have to embark on a legal process to satisfy a bank (for instance) when they can least cope. Such estate planning documents also allow you to appoint multiple potential decision makers should your primary decision maker (eg your partner) not be willing or able to act for you at the relevant moment – particularly if you are hurt together.

I have a Living Will/Advance Care Directive already?

A Living Will does not replace an Appointment of Enduring Guardian and typically covers specific end of life care scenarios and directions for your guardian only. An Appointment of Enduring Guarding is a more general legal document that protects you in respect of medical, accommodation and lifestyle decision(s) should you lose capacity.

Power of Attorney Lawyer, Sydney | Long Saad Woodbridge Law Firm

Power of Attorney

Establishing an Enduring Power of Attorney is easy with the assistance of one of our Estate Planning Lawyers.

An enduring power of attorney gives the appointed person control of your financial decisions from the designated commencement event or date, even if you were to lose mental capacity. This can offer peace of mind now, knowing that your financial affairs will be taken care of, when you are no longer in a position to manage them yourself.

Deciding whether to have an enduring power of attorney naturally requires careful consideration. There are a number of ways we can suggest to help minimise the risk of any misuse of powers. We will advise you on whether an enduring power of attorney is appropriate in your personal circumstances, and if so, make all arrangements to put it in place.

Enduring Guardianship

An Enduring Guardianship appoints one or more persons of your choosing to make lifestyle or personal decisions on your behalf, in the event that you lose the capacity to make these types of decisions yourself. These can include decisions about where you live and the type of medical treatment you receive, for example.

Our estates planning lawyers can guide and advise you in the important area of making an enduring guardianship appointment.

Should you wish to limit the types of decisions your guardian can make, for example, or provide directions about how they should enact their responsibilities, we can incorporate these intentions into the enduring guardianship appointment.

We would be pleased to discuss your particular circumstances with you, and how an enduring guardianship can help you.

Contact a member of our Estate Planning Team. We are here to assist you.