Empowering Documents
Copyright © 2013 by "DCG Publishing"
All Rights reserved
E-Mail: gallcolaw@optusnet.com.au
All Rights reserved
E-Mail: gallcolaw@optusnet.com.au
General Infomation
Unfortunately life is full of setbacks and accidents waiting to happen. Life can be so complicated that you need to prepare for any circumstance that may arise.
The preparation of empowering documents will hopefully make your life and the lives of those who care for you easier to deal with in the event of an unfortunate accident or even just the process of ageing and losing your competency.
The preparation of empowering documents will hopefully make your life and the lives of those who care for you easier to deal with in the event of an unfortunate accident or even just the process of ageing and losing your competency.
Power of Attorney
Only remains in force whilst you are still competent.
Only remains in force whilst you are still competent.
Enduring Power of Attorney
This is a document you should contemplate preparing and executing at the same time as you do your Will.
It is empowers your appointed Attorney/s to do everything legally that you could do, even in the event of mental incompetence.
For example, if you are injured in accident and suffer brain damage, if you don’t have an enduring power of attorney your partner or family will have to apply for a guardianship order or have a trustee company appointed to act on your behalf, all of which takes time, money and effort.
If you have an enduring power of attorney your appointed attorney/s can immediately attend to the payment of your bills, deal with all legal matters and day to day which arise on your behalf and need only tender that power of attorney to authorize such conduct.
Likewise if you are ageing, frail and becoming forgetful and need assistance from time to time with day to day living an enduring power of attorney will allow your attorney/s to assist you whilst still alive.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a power of attorney that continues notwithstanding that you may have lost legal competence.
This is the most widely used type of power of attorney and allows your attorney to continue looking after your affairs even if you are incapable of doing so.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is in this day and age as essential as having a Will.
Enduring Power of Guardianship
Allows your guardian/s to make decisions about your welfare should you not be able to do so.
Again the execution of such a document makes life for you and for your attorney/s rather than going through a process to obtain the same powers.
This empowers your guardian to make life choices on your behalf should you become legally incompetent.
These decisions can include complex matters such as where and how you will live and simple as determining what type of food you are able to have and advise of any allergies from which you suffer.
More and more nursing homes are for example insisting that their client’s execute an Enduring Power of Guardianship so that the person who deals with their client’s on a day to day basis has the power to do so legally.
Medical Power of Attorney
This document allows your attorney to give permission for you to be provided medical treatment and allows your attorney/s to authorize medical and dental treatment, i.e. injections and/or operations which can be withheld in some circumstances until authority by an outside body authorizes the same.
Clearly it is a valuable document to have prepared prior to actually needing it.
You can also discuss with your lawyer “anticipatory directions” and “statement of choices” (advanced care plan) which sets out your wishes in relation to medical treatment in the event of your body failing you and you not being in a position to give those directions personally.
Although we all feel invincible and suffer from the delusion that it will never happen to us, the reality is an accident or illness is only a step or heartbeat away and preparing for those eventualities leaves you as much as possible in control of your own life as well as having unconcerned and uninterested people making decisions for you whether you wish it or not.
Again a document which becomes more useful and required as time goes by.
Future directions
It is now possible for you to execute documents which express your wishes or concerns as to future medical involvement with you in circumstances where you may have a life ending illness or be injured to the point where your life is dependent on medical intervention.
For some people it is essential their wishes be strictly carried out should they find themselves in those circumstances and the best and most effective way to have those wishes undertaken is to execute future direction documents.
In relation to all these empowering documents, it is usually a good idea to discuss each and every one of them at the same time as making your Will.
All of these documents are about taking control of your own life any circumstance which may arise and of course making sure that you are care for appropriately and treated the way you wish to be treated which is extremely important and can be assisted by the execution of these types of documents
This is a document you should contemplate preparing and executing at the same time as you do your Will.
It is empowers your appointed Attorney/s to do everything legally that you could do, even in the event of mental incompetence.
For example, if you are injured in accident and suffer brain damage, if you don’t have an enduring power of attorney your partner or family will have to apply for a guardianship order or have a trustee company appointed to act on your behalf, all of which takes time, money and effort.
If you have an enduring power of attorney your appointed attorney/s can immediately attend to the payment of your bills, deal with all legal matters and day to day which arise on your behalf and need only tender that power of attorney to authorize such conduct.
Likewise if you are ageing, frail and becoming forgetful and need assistance from time to time with day to day living an enduring power of attorney will allow your attorney/s to assist you whilst still alive.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a power of attorney that continues notwithstanding that you may have lost legal competence.
This is the most widely used type of power of attorney and allows your attorney to continue looking after your affairs even if you are incapable of doing so.
An Enduring Power of Attorney is in this day and age as essential as having a Will.
Enduring Power of Guardianship
Allows your guardian/s to make decisions about your welfare should you not be able to do so.
Again the execution of such a document makes life for you and for your attorney/s rather than going through a process to obtain the same powers.
This empowers your guardian to make life choices on your behalf should you become legally incompetent.
These decisions can include complex matters such as where and how you will live and simple as determining what type of food you are able to have and advise of any allergies from which you suffer.
More and more nursing homes are for example insisting that their client’s execute an Enduring Power of Guardianship so that the person who deals with their client’s on a day to day basis has the power to do so legally.
Medical Power of Attorney
This document allows your attorney to give permission for you to be provided medical treatment and allows your attorney/s to authorize medical and dental treatment, i.e. injections and/or operations which can be withheld in some circumstances until authority by an outside body authorizes the same.
Clearly it is a valuable document to have prepared prior to actually needing it.
You can also discuss with your lawyer “anticipatory directions” and “statement of choices” (advanced care plan) which sets out your wishes in relation to medical treatment in the event of your body failing you and you not being in a position to give those directions personally.
Although we all feel invincible and suffer from the delusion that it will never happen to us, the reality is an accident or illness is only a step or heartbeat away and preparing for those eventualities leaves you as much as possible in control of your own life as well as having unconcerned and uninterested people making decisions for you whether you wish it or not.
Again a document which becomes more useful and required as time goes by.
Future directions
It is now possible for you to execute documents which express your wishes or concerns as to future medical involvement with you in circumstances where you may have a life ending illness or be injured to the point where your life is dependent on medical intervention.
For some people it is essential their wishes be strictly carried out should they find themselves in those circumstances and the best and most effective way to have those wishes undertaken is to execute future direction documents.
In relation to all these empowering documents, it is usually a good idea to discuss each and every one of them at the same time as making your Will.
All of these documents are about taking control of your own life any circumstance which may arise and of course making sure that you are care for appropriately and treated the way you wish to be treated which is extremely important and can be assisted by the execution of these types of documents
