Here’s what you need to know about having a Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that appoints a person or people (the ‘Attorney/s’) to make legal and financial decisions on your behalf should the need arise. The person that makes the Power of Attorney is known as the ‘Principal’.

You should carefully consider the person/s you are appointing as your Attorney as they will be making important decisions for you.

There are different types of Powers of Attorney:

General Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Attorney.

A General Power of Attorney is usually given for a specific period of time. You may appoint an attorney in this document if you are going into hospital and need a person to manage your affairs for a short time or for a particular purpose. However, if you were to lose your mental capacity the General Power of Attorney ceases to operate.

An Enduring Power of Attorney allows your attorney to make decisions for you even when you have lost the capacity to make decisions for yourself.

You need to be able to:

* Understand the facts
* Understand the main choices
* Weigh up the consequences of your choices
* Understand how consequences affect you and others
* Communicate your decision.

Your capacity to make different types of decisions can be affected or lost due to illness, disorders such as dementia, or impacts from an accident.

You must have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place for an attorney to act after you have lost capacity. It is important to plan for the future and appoint your Enduring Power of Attorney before you lose capacity.

You can choose when the Enduring Power of Attorney commences which could be straight away or only when you have lost capacity. The Enduring Power of Attorney lasts until the end of your life or if you choose to revoke it at any point as long as you have the capacity to do so.

Attorneys in NSW can be appointed to make the following kinds of decisions:

Financial – such as paying bills and other expenses
Legal – making investments and selling or buying property.
Multiple Attorneys can be appointed to make decisions separately or together, or to make different decisions.

The appointment of an Enduring Guardian is different to a Power of Attorney. You appoint an enduring guardian to make lifestyle decisions such as access to support services, health care, and decisions about where and with whom you live and the medical treatment you receive. The Enduring Guardian fact sheet has more information on this.

The duties of an enduring guardian are:

Act within the limits of their appointment – start date, powers, limitations.
Make decisions that the you would have made – take into account your wishes and preferences
Manage your affairs responsibly – act in your best interests and keep records
Not mix money – avoid a conflict of interest
Act with honesty and in good faith
Work with other decision-makers
Make decisions that are the least restrictive of your freedom
Encourage your participation in decision-making, life and the community
Protect you from neglect, abuse or exploitation

For more information visit the Government site for your State or Territory.