Ensuring your loved one’s wishes will be undertaken in future
Ensuring your loved one’s wishes will be undertaken in future
After a loved one receives a dementia diagnosis, it’s understandable if assisting with long-term planning isn’t high on your ‘to-do’ list.
However, future planning needs to be one of the earliest priorities. The law requires that a person has mental capacity (legal capacity) when making certain decisions in their life, in order for these decisions to be considered valid. These include making a will, appointing an Enduring Power of Attorney, appointing an Enduring Guardian, and completing an Advance Care Directive.
A person living with dementia will often still be considered to have “capacity” in the earlier stages of their diagnosis, so if these documents haven’t already been prepared, it’s important to do so as soon as possible.
A brief checklist for future planning
💠Appoint an Enduring Power of Attorney: An Enduring Power of Attorney is a document that authorises someone to make legal and financial decisions on behalf of a person who is unable to, when the time is appropriate (usually this is determined by a G.P, but it depends on what has been stipulated in the agreement). Quite often a carer, family member or friend is appointed as an attorney if they are familiar with a person’s financial affairs and their needs and wishes.
💠 Appoint an Enduring Guardian: An Enduring Guardianship is a document that authorises someone to make lifestyle, health and medical decisions on your loved one’s behalf, when the time is appropriate. Within this document your loved one can give directions to their Enduring Guardian about how and when they are to perform their role. It’s recommended that everyone have an enduring guardian, regardless of their current health condition.
💠Create an Advance Care Plan: An advance care planning involves planning for your loved one’s future health care. It enables your loved one to make some decisions now about the health care they would, or would not like to receive, if they were unable to communicate their preferences or make treatment decisions. It’s a good idea for everyone to have an Advance Care Plan. Once completed, the Advance Care Plan should be given to the Enduring Guardian and medical professionals. You can find a template here.
💠Write your will: A will is a legal document that outlines what you'd like to happen to your assets after your death. Having an up-to-date will is important for everyone, regardless of whether they have a dementia diagnosis.
💠Carers who are listed as Enduring Power of Attorney should begin the process of putting themselves as a representative on bank accounts and with other organisations such as My Aged Care and Centrelink.
Where do I start and how much will this cost?
💠 You can purchase a Power of Attorney document, Enduring Guardianship document, and a basic Will through the NSW Government website as the lowest cost option. Alternatively, you can engage the services of an estate specialist at a legal firm to assist with completion of your Will. This is the recommended option, as you will avoid any errors or omissions.
💠 You can find a template to create an Advance Care Plan here.
What if my loved one no longer has the ability to make their own decisions?
💠If a person loses capacity without having previously prepared a private Enduring Power of Attorney or an Appointment of Enduring Guardian, an application may need to be made to the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) Guardianship Division to appoint a financial manager and a guardian.
Guardianship orders appoint a guardian to make personal or lifestyle decisions for someone with decision making disabilities.
Financial management orders appoint a financial manager for someone who is not capable of managing their affairs.
Other things to keep in mind:
💠An Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship will need to be in place before a person goes into aged care. In many cares, an advanced care plan will also need to be in place.
💠It’s important to make sure that close family members know about your loved one’s wishes, and where to access important documents.
This information was correct at the time of writing. If you believe any of this information has changed, please help our volunteers keep this page up-to-date by getting in touch.
Thank you to Jo Stephens, financial adviser and director of Bentley Zeus Pty Ltd (Orange), for assisting with this information.