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As you get a little older, it's nice to know that there are knowledgeable, kind, and considerate people ready to help you plan your affairs to ensure that you are heard.

To help you and your family plan and understand what these plans mean, we have specialists in elder law that can advise and answer your questions. We can assist you and your family by ensuring all property and personal needs are taken care of now and for the future, should you, or someone you love, not be able to do so.
 

Enduring Powers of Attorney

We recommend that all of our clients, especially older clients, have enduring powers of attorney for both their property and personal care and welfare.

Giving someone an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) is a way to make sure someone you trust will make decisions for you if you are not able to make them or communicate them yourself. Consider them a form of 'insurance'. An EPA 'endures' past the point that you are no longer 'mentally capable'.

There are two types of enduring power of attorney you can make:

EPA for personal care and welfare - You can appoint someone (your "attorney") to make decisions about issues like where you'll live, who'll look after you and what medical treatment you might need. This kind of EPA can only come into effect once you've lost "mental capacity", and not before.

EPA for property - This kind of EPA gives the person you appoint (your "attorney") the power to make decisions about your money and property. You can give them a general power to deal with all these issues, or you can limit what they can deal with. In your EPA you can say whether your appointed person can start using their powers and making decisions straight away, or only if and when you lose "mental capacity".

If you want to you can make one of each type of EPA, in two separate documents. You can choose the same person to be your decision-maker/attorney under both EPAs. However, if appointing your child or children, it might be more advisable to share the responsibilities.

For sound peace of mind, one or more of our partners may be willing to accept appointment for your property affairs, especially if you do not have children or another trusted person to appoint. With planning, we are able to act in your best interests and build a package around you to help with your property affairs.

If you are looking for experienced, knowledgeable, and considerate people to help you with any elder law matters, please reach out to our Elder Law team: