Power Of Attorney | Melbourne | Legal Essentials

Power of Attorney

What are Powers of Attorney?

Powers of Attorney are documents designed to allow someone to look after you and your affairs when you can't. This may be due to illness, incapacity or any other circumstances.

An Enduring Power of Attorney appoints someone to control your financial and legal affairs. It is very powerful. It applies when either:

  • A doctor certifies you have lost capacity, or
  • You declare in writing that you would like the document to come into effect.

You can also use it to appoint someone to make decisions about longer term care, such as whether you should go into a nursing home and which one.

The Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) appoints someone to make decisions about critical medical care. This covers treatment options such as whether to continue life support or not.

Powers of Attorney end upon your death. This is when your Will takes over.

Why do I need Powers of Attorney?

It puts you in control. By having the full range of Powers of Attorney in place you can:

  • Choose who has access to your money.
  • Control who makes important medical and lifestyle decisions for you.
  • Tailor your Powers of Attorney to suit your wishes and directions.

What happens if I don't have Powers of Attorney?

Without Powers of Attorney, you have no control over who will be making these important decisions on your behalf.

If you do not have Powers of Attorney, an application has to be made through the courts for your family or friends to have the same powers.

This is costly and can take a lot of time during a difficult situation.

You can save your family time and money by preparing Powers of Attorney now.

By dealing with it now, you can:

  • Determine who will look after you and your money, not the courts.
  • Set limits and directions on what your Attorney can do.
  • Choose when the Powers of Attorney begin.

Start Online Power of Attorney Now!

Recent Articles

No Posts Found.