The Dilemma Facing Older People

WORDS: Brendan Nyst PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

My loved one is getting old, and I worry they may lose their capacity to make sensible decisions in their own best interests. What should I do?

If you think your loved one is getting towards the serious end of the season, it would be both wise and kind of you to encourage them to get their affairs in order whilst they still have full capacity. It is unfortunately all too common for people to leave these things until it’s all too late, creating a raft of practical and legal issues for their family to deal with.

Putting a valid Will in place is the first and most obvious step. That will at least provide a solid and lasting record of their wishes and intentions regarding the distribution of their property when they pass on.

However, it’s just as important that your loved one also establishes, at a time when they are still at full capacity, a workable framework for how decisions should be made on their behalf if and when they are no longer able to competently manage their affairs.  This can be achieved relatively easily and cost-effectively by entering into an Enduring Power of Attorney. That’s a fairly straightforward legal document which enables a person of full capacity to appoint, on an enduring basis, a family member, friend or other person to make decisions on their behalf, if, at some future time, they become no longer able to reliably make such decisions themselves. The attorney can be appointed to make decisions relating to either their finances, their health, or both.

At first blush, that may sound a little scary, but at the same time, it is no doubt reassuring and comforting for any person of advancing years to know that, if they suffer a health complication that prevents them from making competent decisions in their own best interests, the person whom they trust most in the world will be the one to take over and make those decisions for them and on their behalf. Having an Enduring Power of Attorney in place will remove a host of potentially serious roadblocks and complications that might otherwise arise where family members are unable to step in and manage the affairs of their loved ones. It would ideally allow them to engage and instruct medical and other professionals on their loved one’s behalf, as well as readily accessing medical, legal, and financial records, assets and bank accounts.

In addition to a power of attorney, your loved one should consider potentially putting an Advance Health Directive in place. An Advance Health Directive is a document which is compiled, in consultation with one’s medical adviser, to set out clear directions about their future health care, in particular making clear their wishes as to what treatment they would prefer to receive, and in what circumstances.  For example, some may have specific religious or spiritual beliefs that dictate that they don’t want to receive certain forms of medical treatment, some may prefer not to be kept alive on assisted breathing, etc. Not only is this information helpful to your medical professionals, but it often mercifully takes the weight of some of life’s toughest decisions out of the hands and off the shoulders of often stressed and grieving family members.

Both Enduring Power of Attorneys and Advance Health Directives can be found on the Queensland Government Website and completed at no cost. However, ideally, your loved one would have their solicitor prepare these in conjunction with their last Will and Testament.

VISIT: Nyst Legal – www.nystlegal.com.au