Power of Attorney and Advance Care Directive

Disputes arise when illness renders a person unable to make his own decisions. Failure to enact a power of attorney or advance care directive may leave you susceptible to health care decisions contradictory to your wishes.

In our previous article, we discussed about the importance of advance care directives. Today we will talk about power of attorney and the differences between power of attorney and advance care directives.

What is a Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document in which one person nominates and gives legal authority to another to act on affairs on their behalf. In effect, a power of attorney allows you delegate the management of your affairs (for example, to buy and sell things for you or operate your bank account) to someone you trust.

There are two main types of power of attorney:

• General Power of Attorney - A general power of attorney can be created for a specified time, otherwise, it ceases when you die or if you become legally incapacitated.

• Enduring Power of Attorney - An enduring power of attorney is a power of attorney that continues to operate even after you become legally incapacitated (for example, if you become of unsound mind or are unable to communicate in any way, perhaps after a stroke).

Difference between a Power of Attorney and Advance Care Directive

A power of attorney appoints someone else to make decisions on your behalf, whereas an advance care directive sets out your wishes directly to your medical treatment providers should you be unable to communicate those wishes for medical treatment are.

If you are incapacitated in the future and your medical treatment providers have a choice between a power of attorney and an advance care directive, then any wishes set out in the advance care directive will take precedence over any decisions made by an attorney under an enduring power of attorney.

This is because an advance care directive is your document that specifically sets out your wishes and what treatment you would like to receive at this time. You have made these decisions ahead of time and have let your medical providers know. If your medical providers have reason to believe that you have changed your mind about the treatment since the advance care directive was made, they have the power to override the advance care directive.

If you would like to prepare an advanced care directive, Straits Lawyers are now offering an online package for Advance Care Directives and Wills. Simply purchase our package via this link: https://straits-lawyers.square.site/product/will-and-advance-care-directive-package-/13

Alternatively, if you would like to know more about power of attorney, you can email us at info@straitslawyers.com or call at 08 8410 9069 to find out more.

Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice and Straits Lawyers will not be legally responsible for any actions you take based on this article.