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We offer expert guidance in the Appointment of Enduring Guardian, a crucial aspect of planning for the future. Understanding the sensitivity of this decision, our team provides compassionate and comprehensive advice to help you appoint a trusted individual who can make important decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so.
Kaisha Gambell
Senior Associate
Step 1: Talk To Us
Reach out to Coutts Lawyers via our website, phone, or in person for a consultation on how we can help you secure your future.
Step 2: Consultation Appointment
Schedule and attend a meeting with a Coutts lawyer to discuss the specifics of your Estate matter and desired outcomes.
Step 3: We get to work
Rest assured, we’ll meticulously take care of all the legalities and processes involved in your Estate matter.
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Appointing an Enduring Guardian
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is an important estate planning document and allows you to nominate someone else to make health, medical and lifestyle decisions on your behalf if you no longer have the mental capacity to make these decisions for yourself. Your Enduring Guardian should be someone you trust wholeheartedly to look after your best interests and could be a relative or close friend.
The Wills & Estates Team at Coutts can simplify the legal jargon and provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision when it comes to appointing another person to look after your medical and lifestyle needs in the future.
What is an Appointment of an Enduring Guardian?
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is a legal document that allows you to appoint another person (or persons) to make decisions about your lifestyle, health and medical treatments on your behalf if you no longer have the mental capacity to make these decisions for yourself. Someone who is your Guardian can help decide where you live, arrange care services on your behalf (such as in-home care) and give consent on your behalf for medical and dental treatment. The document also allows you to give any directions you have concerning your end-of-life treatment if you feel strongly about this decision.
An Appointment of an Enduring Guardian will only come into effect at any time you have lost the mental capacity to make your own decisions and could be temporary or permanent depending on the period of incapacity.
What are the legal requirements for making an Appointment of an Enduring Guardian?
For an Appointment of Enduring Guardian to be valid, you must be over the age of 18 years and have mental capacity at the time you are making the document.
The document must appoint one or more persons who are also over the age of 18 years to be your Guardian, but you are not allowed to appoint someone who is your paid carer.
You must sign the Appointment of Enduring Guardian in the presence of an eligible witness, such as a Lawyer or Registrar of the Court and your witness must sign a certificate that you understood the nature and effect of making the document.
What is the difference between an Appointment of Enduring Guardian and Advanced Care Directive?
An Appointment of an Enduring Guardian allows the person you appoint as your Guardian to make decisions on your behalf regarding your medical, health and lifestyle needs. The Guardian is only able to exercise these powers when you do not have capacity.
An Advanced Care Directive is a document that allows you to express your wishes and values, such as any religious or cultural values, that you would like the person making decisions on your behalf to be aware of when carrying out their decision-making abilities. It is a way to say what healthcare treatments you would like to have or which healthcare treatments you would prefer to refuse if you are in a position where you are so seriously ill or injured that you cannot make these decisions for yourself. We encourage our clients to make an appointment with their General Practitioner or specialist medical advisors for assistance to discuss and complete any Advanced Care Directive.
What are the duties of a Guardian?
Someone who is your Guardian under an Appointment of Enduring Guardian must always act in your best interests when making any decisions regarding your health, medical or lifestyle needs.
Their specific tasks could vary depending on any conditions or limitations you include in the Appointment of Enduring Guardian, but broadly speaking, a Guardian would be able to:
- Make decisions about where you live and ensure that you have stable and appropriate accommodation.
- Make decisions and arrange for the type of health care you receive.
- Make decisions and arrange personal services on your behalf, such as any haircuts or allied health care services.
- Talk to your treating doctors and look at your health care records; and
- Give consent on your behalf to any major or minor medical or dental treatment.
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Introducing Kaisha
Your Compassionate Lawyer
Meet Kaisha, a Senior Associate at Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers, and the head of our esteemed Wills & Estates Law team. With her wealth of experience, Kaisha’s blend of empathy and thoroughness not only helps her foster genuine connections with her clients but also cements her reputation as a top-tier authority in Wills & Estates law.
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Appointment of Enduring Guardian FAQ’s
An Appointment of Enduring Guardian is a legal document that allows an individual to nominate someone they trust, like a relative or close friend, to make health, medical, and lifestyle decisions on their behalf should they lose the mental capacity to do so themselves. It is a crucial estate planning document designed to ensure the individual’s best interests are looked after during periods of incapacity, whether temporary or permanent.
An Appointment of an Enduring Guardian allows the appointed Guardian to make decisions regarding the individual’s medical, health, and lifestyle needs when they do not have the capacity to do so themselves. An Advanced Care Directive, on the other hand, allows individuals to express their preferences, wishes, and values regarding healthcare treatments they would like to have or refuse if they become seriously ill or injured and cannot make decisions for themselves.
To create a valid Appointment of Enduring Guardian, the individual must be over 18 years old and have mental capacity at the time of making the document. The appointed Guardian(s) must also be over 18 and cannot be the individual’s paid carer. The document must be signed in the presence of an eligible witness such as a Lawyer or Registrar of the Court, and the eligible witness must sign a certificate stating that the individual understood the nature and effect of making the document.
A Guardian must always act in the best interests of the individual, making decisions about their accommodation, healthcare, and personal services, and giving consent to any major or minor medical or dental treatment on their behalf. The Guardian can also talk to the individual’s treating doctors and review their health care records. The specific tasks and responsibilities of a Guardian could vary depending on any conditions or limitations included in the Appointment of an Enduring Guardian.
Coutts can provide expert guidance and simplified legal assistance to individuals looking to secure an Appointment of Enduring Guardian. The team at Coutts can clarify legal jargon, help individuals make informed decisions about their health, medical, and lifestyle needs, and guide them through the process to ensure their future well-being is safeguarded.
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