Enduring Power of Attorney

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives a trusted relative, friend, or organisation the power to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf. This power continues even after you have lost the ability to make decisions for yourself - hence the 'enduring' nature of the power.

Unless you have authorised someone to make decisions on your behalf, there may be conflict over issues that affect your finances or health care. The worst-case scenario is that unscrupulous people may even try to take control of your assets and make decisions that are in their interests rather than yours.

In Victoria there are a number of documents that can help you specify how decisions are made when you are not in a position to make those decisions yourself.

It may be that you are overseas for an extended period and unable to administer your finances, or it may be that as a result of serious illness or injury you become permanently incapacitated.

Enduring Power of Attorney (Financial)

An Enduring Power of Attorney (Financial) gives a trusted relative, friend or advisor the power to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (Financial) can only be made while a person is of sound mind and capable of making financial and legal decisions for themselves.

It is usually intended to take effect only after a person has lost the ability to make decisions for his or her self and is often used by older people who are concerned about deteriorating health.

Enduring Powers of Attorney (Financial) are also useful for people of any age who want to guard against the possibility of an accident or illness that may unexpectedly rob them of their capacity to make important decisions about their financial and legal affairs.

The benefits of making State Trustees your Attorney:

• State Trustees is an enduring organisation that will always be around to act in your best interests as Attorney.
• State Trustees is audited by both internal and external auditors, unlike private Attorneys who are not subject to the same degree of scrutiny.
• Legal and financial decisions are made by expert financial administrators.
• Our business as a trustee company gives you access to specialised resources.

Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment)

Severe injury, illness or ageing can make people temporarily or permanently unable to make decisions, and they are often receiving medical treatment at the time.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) gives the person you appoint (referred to as the 'agent') your specific authority to make decisions about your medical treatment in the event of you losing, at some time in the future, the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

We suggest you prepare a further document which indicates to your Agent the decisions you would like made in relation to further medical treatment or interventions. Having your guidance will often relieve members of your family, and your friends, of the burden of making potentially traumatic medical decisions without any help.

By law, only an individual can be appointed agent under an Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment), so State Trustees cannot accept any appointments as Medical Attorney.

Enduring Power of Guardianship

If someone else has to make decisions about the way you live, you would probably prefer it to be a close friend or a member of the family. An Enduring Power of Guardianship allows you to nominate a person you know well and trust to make lifestyle decisions for you (such as where you should live) in the event of you losing, at some time in the future, the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

By law, only an individual person can be appointed under an Enduring Power of Guardianship, so State Trustees cannot accept any appointment as guardian.

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