Elder Law
Our firm offers services in the area of Elder Law such as powers of attorney and appointments of enduring guardian, as well as advising in relation to to retirement village and aged care agreements.
Our principal solicitor, Michael O'Neill has been offering these services for more than 30 years. His knowledge and experience in the area translates in the ability to provide advice in relation to Elder Law and draft customised powers of attorney and appointments of enduring guardian to suit your needs.
Our principal solicitor, Michael O'Neill has been offering these services for more than 30 years. His knowledge and experience in the area translates in the ability to provide advice in relation to Elder Law and draft customised powers of attorney and appointments of enduring guardian to suit your needs.
What is a power of attorney?
A power of attorney is a legal document appointing someone as your attorney, giving them the power to undertake certain legal and financial actions on your behalf and sign legally binding documents for you. It can be revoked at any time while you have the capacity to do so and it ceases when you die.
You can choose to appoint one or more attorney/s and one or more substitute attorney/s to prevent a situation where the initially appointed attorney could no longer act on your behalf.
There are two types of power of attorney: a general power of attorney, which ceases to have effect if you lose mental capacity to undertake a particular transaction, and an enduring power of attorney which, on the contrary, continues to have effect if you lose mental capacity.
A power of attorney is usually given to enable your attorney to act generally in relation to legal and financial transactions, but can be limited to certain types of action (for example, only financial ones), or can restrict certain actions (for example, anything related to real estate), and special conditions can be added to suit your needs.
Our team will discuss with you the options available for you, taking into account your situation and any particular circumstances, before preparing a power of attorney tailored to your needs. We will also provide you with a guide about powers of attorney for you to keep to enable you to refresh your memory about the effect of the document which may not be used for many years after it being made.
You can choose to appoint one or more attorney/s and one or more substitute attorney/s to prevent a situation where the initially appointed attorney could no longer act on your behalf.
There are two types of power of attorney: a general power of attorney, which ceases to have effect if you lose mental capacity to undertake a particular transaction, and an enduring power of attorney which, on the contrary, continues to have effect if you lose mental capacity.
A power of attorney is usually given to enable your attorney to act generally in relation to legal and financial transactions, but can be limited to certain types of action (for example, only financial ones), or can restrict certain actions (for example, anything related to real estate), and special conditions can be added to suit your needs.
Our team will discuss with you the options available for you, taking into account your situation and any particular circumstances, before preparing a power of attorney tailored to your needs. We will also provide you with a guide about powers of attorney for you to keep to enable you to refresh your memory about the effect of the document which may not be used for many years after it being made.
What is an appointment of enduring guardian?
An appointment of enduring guardian is a legal document appointing someone as your guardian, giving them the power to make lifestyle decisions and give medical consents on your behalf when you do not have the capacity to do so for yourself. Like a power of attorney, it can be revoked at any time while you have the capacity to do so and it ceases when you die.
You can choose to appoint one or more guardian/s and one or more substitute guardian/s to prevent a situation where the initially appointed guardian could no longer act on your behalf.
The difference with a power of attorney is that the appointment of enduring guardian does not give your guardian any power in relation to legal or financial matters – your guardian can only make decisions in regard to your lifestyle and health and only when you cannot make those decision yourself.
An appointment of enduring guardian is usually given to enable the guardian to make lifestyle decisions and give consents to medical treatment when you cannot do so, but can be limited or used to direct your guardian to act in a particular way (for example, refusing certain life-prolonging treatments), and special conditions can be added to suit your needs.
You can choose to appoint one or more guardian/s and one or more substitute guardian/s to prevent a situation where the initially appointed guardian could no longer act on your behalf.
The difference with a power of attorney is that the appointment of enduring guardian does not give your guardian any power in relation to legal or financial matters – your guardian can only make decisions in regard to your lifestyle and health and only when you cannot make those decision yourself.
An appointment of enduring guardian is usually given to enable the guardian to make lifestyle decisions and give consents to medical treatment when you cannot do so, but can be limited or used to direct your guardian to act in a particular way (for example, refusing certain life-prolonging treatments), and special conditions can be added to suit your needs.