Enduring Powers of Attorney
Have you ever thought about who you would like to appoint to manage your affairs in the event you are unable to?
A common misconception is that the ‘next of kin’ would take over and make these decisions for you. No one can lawfully make decisions on behalf of a mentally incapable person without that person’s prior consent or through permission of the Court.
Regardless of whether you are aged 20 or 50 years, we cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring you have completed enduring power of attorney documents. Examples where a power of attorney is important:
While painting his house, James fell off the ladder and fell into a coma. Luckily James had appointed his wife as his power of attorney, and she made wise medical decisions for him while he was mentally incapable.
Jack and Jill owned a two-story house. Jack suffered a stroke and became mentally incapable. It became difficult for Jack to live in a two-story house, with no power of attorney Jill was unable to sell the house.
Jill applied to the Court at a considerable expense, and it took several months to get orders to enable her to sell the house in order to purchase a house better suited to Jack’s needs.
The doctor’s told Mary that her mother’s dementia was getting progressively worse, and she would need 24-hour care. As her mother’s attorney, Mary was able to secure a beautiful room with a garden view at the local rest home.
What is an Enduring Power of Attorney?
An enduring power of attorney is a document which allows you to appoint someone to manage your affairs if you are unable to. There are two types of Enduring Power of Attorney documents, one in relation to your personal care and welfare and the other in relation to your property affairs. The documents usually come into effect if one loses mental capacity, by an illness or an unexpected accident.
By having enduring powers of attorney documents in place, not only do you decide who manages your affairs, but you can also decide how your attorney manages them. You can list people who your attorney must consult with and give information to. You can also appoint a “successor attorney” if your attorney passes away or is unable to act.
Personal Care and Welfare Attorney
The person you appoint as your welfare attorney will have authority to make decisions relating to your personal care and welfare needs. Your welfare attorney may make decisions about your:
Medical treatments
Hospitalisation
Rest home care
Property
You can appoint two or more property attorneys to manage your property affairs. If you appoint more than one property attorney, you will need to decide whether they act together (jointly) or alone (severally). Your property attorney may make decisions about your financial matters such as:
Access to your bank accounts to pay bills
Property title matters
General financial related decisions
If you lose capacity without enduring power of attorney documents in place, someone will need to apply to the Court to appoint a property manager and welfare guardian on your behalf. This can be considerably expensive and time-consuming process and it is unlikely that you will have any say on who is appointed.
Sutcliffe Matson Law wants to ensure their clients affairs are in order. If you do not have Enduring Power of Attorney’s in place, we strongly recommend that you contact our office to discuss this further. We would be happy to assist you.
Please contact:
Braden on braden@smlaw.net.nz | 021327030 or (09)2798351
Breanna on breanna@smlaw.net.nz | (09)2798351 ext 212.
If you would like to discuss this further you can contact us or make an appointment at one of our locations:
Botany South: Unit A, 16 Bishop Dunn Place
Beachlands: 38A Wakelin Road